Road Trip
by Wesfan1234
Summary: Set right after "Lineage" in Season Five. Wesley and Faith take a road trip to Los Angeles after they attend a wedding.
1. Chicago

Title: Road Trip

Author: WesFan

Summary: Wesley and Faith take a road trip to Los Angeles after they attend a wedding.

Pairings: Wesley/Faith (I'm really on this kick right now; I can't seem to break it)

Rating: R for strong language, sexual situations, and violence (come on people, it's Faith and Wes here; they eat violence for breakfast)

Disclaimer: Hey, I'm only borrowing them from the mega genius that is Joss since he's the only boss now and has no one employed. We will miss him on television. I just hope he gets a job soon.

Author notes: --spoilers if you haven't seen the fifth season of Angel-- This takes place a week after "Lineage". That's the one where Wes shot and killed his cyborg father. Remember, he disappeared for a while to brood. Well, this is one scenario of what he could have been up to. And I had to figure out an excuse to get the two together. A wedding was the best opportunity. So this will be fluffy in places and serious in others. And I'm stuck on my fic about the future that I had been creating (The Only One). So I thought I'd write something fun. I like road trip fics. So read and enjoy.

Chapter One – Chicago

"Bloody hell," Wesley mumbled under his breath as he took in the scene before him.

It was worse than a nest of Krish'nath demons, worse than vampires on a rainy night, even worse than confronting Angelus. Because before him stood a group of people he never thought he cared to encounter again. The group from Sunnydale in their finest. Or should he say in their worst.

Bright yellow really didn't look good on a woman with blonde hair. It made her look like a beach ball with all the frilly sleeves and poofing at the hem. She smiled brightly as the photographer took her picture, along with the woman standing next to her. Yellow made the other woman just look pissed off at the world at large. And the frillies did not look good on her at all and it showed. She looked good in basic black and blood red.

"Faith, smile," Buffy told her through clenched teeth.

"How the hell am I supposed to smile in a get-up like this?" she grumbled back.

Wesley snickered under his breath. It felt good to see something quite silly since the last week had been so traumatic. The invitation to this wedding had come at the right time. What he didn't understand was why he was invited in the first place. The man positively despised him in Sunnydale. But they had earned respect from each other finally, only to turn that around when he had joined Wolfram and Hart with the others not a few months before. Now he was at a crossroads with Giles yet again.

But this day wasn't about who worked for whom, what mistakes had been made in the past. Giles was getting married to a lovely woman, in and of itself a miracle since the woman seemed to be of sound mind. He seemed ecstatic, standing off to the side, arm around the woman, all smiles.

He had received the invitation a couple of week's prior, right after the disastrous party that Lorne had thrown at Halloween. He had thought that the others on his team would attend the wedding, but none wanted to or had the time. Now he had plenty of time on his hands. Plenty of time to contemplate what on earth he had done the past week to warrant his behavior. So he had left hurriedly, driving across the country to Chicago just to get away from what had happened. He needed that time to think. So he had ended up here, at the wedding, sitting in a corner depressed as ever.

Willow had greeted him nicely, giving him a hug and introducing him to her girlfriend Kennedy. Giles had shaken his hand. Xander had nodded his way, but had not engaged him in conversation, which was perfect since he didn't want to talk with the ponce anyway. Buffy and Faith had yet to even see him, much less spoken with him. He really didn't want to speak with Buffy. But he had wanted to converse with Faith just a little, if just to see how she was getting on in her life.

"I'm changin'," Faith complained.

"No, you're not. Giles will get mad," Buffy pointed out.

Once the pictures were done, Buffy waved to someone in the crowd. Faith stood there for a moment, then pointedly looked his way. He sat at a table off to the side and in the back. No one was there except for him and his whiskey. He guessed with the surly mood that had overtaken him that no one would want his company. Faith should at least realize that it was dangerous to approach him when he had that look in his eyes. She had seen it several times before.

Even dressed in that silly concoction, she still strutted over towards him like she wore the leather she was so fond of. He almost laughed out loud, but decided that it might be in his best interest to hold his comments. She smiled a genuine smile as she reached the table. He had forgotten how young she looked when she smiled.

"Like the dress?" she asked him.

"Yellow is not your color," he stated the obvious.

"At least not this shade of yellow. Ruffles are just not me," she added, trying not to laugh.

"How are you?"

"Just dandy. You're looking . . . ," Faith hesitated. "Just as scruffy as always. You're scaring the guests."

"Better than annoying them or screaming like a girl."

"No screaming, please. Giles might have a heart attack or something. Of course, with as young as his new bride is, he might have one tonight anyway."

Good old Faith as always. Making the crass, sexually oriented joke. Wesley had missed that about her. He took a drink and looked into her amused eyes.

"You wanna dance or something?"

Wesley almost choked on the liquor as it flowed down his throat. Faith bent over him to give him a hard thump on his back. And got a view of her ample cleavage, which made him choke again.

"That's OK," he sputtered out, trying to breathe again.

"You can't sit here and be anti-social. That's usually my department."

Faith was right. She was the one that usually didn't fit in. Did she realize how much they had in common?

"I've got Jack to keep me company," Wesley said, raising his glass her way.

"Don't think so. Get up," Faith commanded, hands on her hips.

Should he just annoy her and sit there? It could be quite embarrassing if they got into a brawl at Giles's wedding. And of course, she was ten times stronger than he was, which meant she could probably get him to do just about whatever she wanted. His face flushed a little with that thought. It must be the alcohol talking, he thought.

He took a deep breath and got up from his chair. Luckily the drink had been his first, since the bar had just opened shortly before. Staring down at her, he offered his arm to her. She immediately complied, placing her arm in his. They walked over to join the others on the dance floor.

* * *

Faith had seen him walk in to the reception. He kind of looked a little like James Bond after a hard night of saving the world. Xander had complained about his looks before in Sunnydale. He was right. Wesley did kind of look like that, if he had been on a binge for three days. 

She still couldn't get over the fact that this man in front of her was the same Wesley she had met only a few years before. That man had been clean-shaven, immaculate in his dress, and downright prissy in his actions. He couldn't even throw a punch much less take one. Now, she wouldn't put it past him to have a weapon in the back of that suit jacket.

The funniest thing though was he was dressed all in black. His suit, his shirt, even his shoes. His tie had a little color in it, but otherwise, he looked like he was going to a funeral. Maybe being around the Scoobies might put him in that type of mood. Being around them was sometimes depressing to say the least.

But it was Giles's wedding. The older watcher had finally found his match, something that she would never accomplish. Sure, it had been fun with Robin while it lasted, but now that was kaput. She thanked her lucky stars that it was.

She could smell his aftershave as she led him to the dance floor. Probably very expensive aftershave since he was now working for Evil Incorporated. Giles hadn't wanted to invite any of the Los Angeles gang to the ceremony, but she had pointed out that they had helped out several times in the past. So he had reluctantly sent the invitations. Only Wesley had responded positively. The rest had said no, which didn't surprise her.

His hand was warm in hers as she reached the dance floor. The band started playing a slow song as soon as they had reached it, which was fine with her. Even as rugged and cool as he looked, Faith was sure the man couldn't dance to a fast beat to save his life. He still was Wesley, the Brit with a stick up his ass.

He kept the distance between them respectable, but the warm hand on her back made her tingle. At least he could keep a beat, unlike some damn vampire with a soul that she knew. Maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

"You have rhythm," she said in his ear so that he could hear her.

His eyes widened in merriment as he looked down at her. He must have thought that she was quite funny right then, because he finally smiled at her. She could count on her hand the times that he had actually smiled at her. The last time was right before she had left Los Angeles for Sunnydale to go after the First. She had accomplished capturing Angelus so Willow could re-ensoul him. It made her feel all warm and fuzzy seeing the genuine smile on his face back then. He had told her how proud he was of her too.

"Yes, we English are known to dance occasionally," he quipped back at her.

His deep blue eyes stood out prominently against all the black and facial hair. She was so glad he had gotten rid of those glasses so she could actually see what the hell he really looked like.

"Could a fooled me," she shot back with amusement in her voice.

"There are many things you don't know about me, Faith."

Just then the band picked up the tempo with another song that was meant to get everyone out on the dance floor. Wesley looked like a deer caught in the headlights. But Faith didn't let go of his hands, not letting him escape to the sidelines.

She pulled him tight against her, swaying her hips with the beat. She could see him swallow visibly as her body touched him everywhere. Now she knew that the blood was pumping through him as she saw his blush spread across his face. Man did he look pretty when he blushed. But the look in his eyes wasn't pretty. It was downright, well she didn't know what. She couldn't tell whether he was pissed off at her or whether he'd throw her down and have his way with her.

Faith gave a look of challenge his way, just so he wouldn't move off the dance floor any time soon. He complied with a smirk, which meant he took the challenge even before she flashed the look his way. He may not be a smooth dancer, but he did know how to take cues when needed. So she led him around the floor. Off to the side, Xander glared at them. But she didn't care one bit.

"They'll talk," Wes whispered in her ear.

"Let them. I'm havin' fun."

Before he could stand up straight, she flicked out her tongue quickly to his throat just so he'd know how much fun she was having. The look of shock was well worth it. By the time the song was over, she was just as flushed as he was. Taking her hand, he practically dragged her off the dance floor and into the hallway. Dawn and Kennedy watched them go, mouths open wide. Faith just waved as Wesley opened the door.

He paced back and forth for a few moments, pointing his finger her way, but nothing coming out of his mouth. Faith thought it was really funny and she smiled his way again. He finally stopped right in front of her, glaring down to make his point.

"That was not funny," he finally said.

"I thought it was hilarious. Did you see the look on their faces?"

"I don't like being used, Faith."

"I was just playin', Wes. Lighten up."

Wesley sighed as she smiled back up at him. "Xander was shooting daggers through me."

"He would since every woman was lookin' your way and not his."

Wesley snorted his comment out and bowed his head. His hands went in his pockets, like he was trying to keep them busy.

"Not likely."

"Uh uh. Is likely. Nice suit, by the way. You goin' to a funeral afterwards?"

His mouth quirked up again, finding her comment amusing. "Might as well be."

"Hey, stick with me. No one will mess with you."

"Yes, stick with the woman who could put you into the hospital with just a punch. I'm sure that no one will mess with me now."

Faith reached around him so quickly, he didn't have time to react. She pulled out his weapon so smoothly, just like she had learned so many years ago when she pickpocketed people for money.

"Yeah, right," she said, not convinced one bit that he didn't have another piece somewhere else on his person. "Ya got any others?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"Faith, get back in here," Buffy's voice called from the door.

Faith made a snarly face at Wesley because her back was to Buffy and she wouldn't see. Leaning down, she slipped him the weapon back so that Ms. Perfect wouldn't see it. He grinned down at her as his eyes went straight for her chest.

"Pervert," she called him.

"Bitch," he retorted back.

"Jerk."

"Git."

"See, you shouldn't use those British swear words. I couldn't possibly keep up. And damn it, I don't know what they mean."

Wesley smoothly put the weapon back in its place as he followed her back into the hall. Buffy glared at the two of them for quite some time, but Faith didn't leave his side until they had to do more pictures.

Buffy pulled her aside as everyone else in the wedding party started to arrange themselves for the picture.

"Faith, what's going on between you and the new Wes?"

"Nuthin'. Just havin' a little fun."

"Ha. Now there's a story if there ever was one. Spill."

"Buffy, nothing is going on. I swear."

Buffy gave her a pointed look. "Don't ruin Giles's wedding."

"Wouldn't dream of it."

Wesley looked her way from his position near the back of the room. He saluted her with his drink and she gave him the middle finger back, smiling the whole time.

"Faith, get in the picture," Giles told her with that warning tone in his voice.

Faith complied just to get it over with. Finally, they were done with that nonsense. The rice was thrown and Giles and his bride were on their way. Faith waved goodbye and groaned as her feet decided they had enough torture. Slipping her shoes off, she looked around for Wes. He was nowhere to be seen. Grabbing her jacket and duffel bag, she headed towards the bathroom to change before she had to catch her plane.

Before she could reach the bathroom, she spotted Wes off in the distance, speaking on the phone. Crossing her arms over her frilly chest, she waited patiently until he got off the phone.

"Found ya," she called out to him.

"Yes. Apparently you did. And just when I thought that I would slip out of here unnoticed."

"Hey, Mr. Sarcastic and Scruffy. Wanna go get a drink?"

"If you wear that, sure."

Faith looked down at her dress. Now she did want to cuss him out. "Just as long as I get to wear my boots."

"Feel free," he shot back to her.

Since the dress was almost to the floor, all anyone would see would be a bit of black sticking out. And she couldn't give a damn anyway.

* * *

Wesley chose the hotel bar where he was staying just because it was convenient. The waitress eyed Faith up and down, trying to figure out what on earth she was. Faith gave the woman a look of death, scaring her away quickly after she took their orders. 

"She won't come back," Wesley told Faith as she tapped her fingers on the table.

"Sorry. I just was pissed that she didn't like my dress."

"It is rather fetching. Why didn't you change?"

He knew that she did want to get out of the damn thing. But did she do it just to see his reaction or because she didn't want to let him out of her sight?

"Thought you'd skip on me."

So the out of sight thing it was. "Indeed. You know me quite well."

"Not as well as I would like to."

That statement could have many meanings, he thought. And he didn't want to assume any of them.

"So you drove all the way out here? I guess they didn't need you that bad for a while."

Wesley really didn't want to tell her what had happened. He didn't think that it was any of her business. He just wanted to sit with her and drink himself into a stupor.

"No. Not at all actually. Angel told me to take some time off."

"A vacation. And you spent it driving? Man, your head is messed up."

His head was messed up completely. Probably more than it ever had been in his whole life. But she didn't want to know about his problems.

"The peace and quiet was nice for a change."

"Yeah, working for Evil Incorporated must be hell."

Wesley winced visibly at her comment. He tried to keep a straight face, but she had seen his reaction and looked down at the table.

"Sometimes," he replied, not knowing what else to say.

"Sorry. I didn't think with my brain that time."

"Perfectly alright."

The waitress returning with the drinks stopped all conversation for a little while.

"I like peace and quiet sometimes too. Living with a bunch of girls is hell on wheels. All the screeching and crying. I feel like a babysitter."

"How are they coming along?" he asked.

"As well as could be expected. It'll take a while. Hey, how did you know anyway?"

He wanted to tell her that Spike had told them everything, but that wouldn't be possible. The vampire had his own reasons for staying away from the Sunnydale group. He didn't want to complicate matters more.

"I hear things."

"I'll bet."

Faith started to tap her fingers on the table again, which annoyed him to no end. Finally he reached over to stop her beat. Her fingers were cold from the beer she was drinking.

"Sorry. Bad habit."

Wesley swallowed down the rest of his drink quickly, wanting to be on his way. He wanted to start his drive back later that night. Which meant no more drinking for the next couple of hours so he could be sober. Pulling out a couple of bills, he threw them on the table.

"You must have a plane to catch," he said as he started to get out of the booth.

"Yeah, I do. I'm headed your way, actually. I have to see this parole guy that Giles set me up with. They need to make sure things are going smoothly."

An ex-con's work was never done, he thought.

"Good," he got out as he stood.

Faith scooted out with him, almost tripping on that thing that she was wearing.

"I need to get to the airport. It was nice seeing you. Maybe I'll look you up if I'm still there when you get back."

The moment was awkward between the two, but Wesley didn't know what else to do. Leaning over, he placed a light kiss on her cheek. As he pulled back, he could see that her eyes had dilated to the point he couldn't see her irises.

"Um, yeah. See ya," she stammered out, backing away.

It looked as if she would make a quick getaway. But she stopped her progress and dropped her bag on the floor along with her jacket.

"What the hell," she said as she moved back toward him.

Grabbing his lapels, she yanked his head down and sealed her lips over his. She tasted like the beer she had drank plus something else he couldn't put his finger on at the moment. Before he could figure it out, she pushed him away.

"I'm not done," he ground out and pulled her into an embrace.

This time she opened her mouth to let his tongue slide in and taste more fully. He heard a slight groan come deep from within her as he put his hands through her thick hair. Then he figured it out. She tasted just like she looked: hot, wet, wild, and wonderful. It wasn't a particular taste, it was just who she was. Finally, he let her go with one more tug. Faith panted as he released her.

"Where'd you learn how to do that?"

He thought that maybe he would tell her, but knew that it might not be such a good idea. "Here and there."

"Evil bitch lawyer," she told him as she picked up her duffel bag to sling it over her shoulder. "Or was that evil lawyer bitch? I could never keep that straight."

So she did figure that out. Lilah hadn't been on his mind for a while now. He truly did miss her. Just as he missed having Faith around to bug him.

Wesley chuckled a little at her comment, and then waved her on so he could go up to his room and pack. It was going to be a long journey back.

* * *

Faith entered the restroom at the hotel with a huff. The man who she thought was one thing was another. Not only did he look hot, he kissed like he was hot too. Why hadn't she ever noticed this? Looking in the mirror, she laughed as she saw the dress on her. Too bad she would just chuck the thing as soon as she could. Or maybe she'd keep it around just because now it smelled a little bit like Wes. 

Digging into her duffel she pulled out her plane tickets to check the time again. Only when she did, she noticed something she hadn't before. Like the time on the return flight. It wasn't what they said it was when she bought the ticket. They had changed it and never told her. She had missed her flight. It had left three hours ago. Even if she had gone to the wedding, she still would have missed her flight.

"Fuck," she said to herself.

She didn't have enough money for another flight. The ticket in her hands was non-refundable and no changes. Now she was stuck. And she needed to be in Los Angeles by next week at the latest to meet with the parole guy. She had just wanted to get it over with, so she had made the appointment early. They were going to give her a permanent parole officer in Cleveland finally, but wanted to evaluate her one last time.

After pulling out everything in her bag, she finally found her cell phone. As she tried to dial a number, she realized that it was out of juice. She swore she had charged it up before she left Cleveland. Piling everything back in the bag, she started off towards the lobby. Everyone else was on his or her way back to Cleveland by now, but not quite there. And Giles was already gone on his honeymoon. What the hell could she do?

Wesley had told her he was staying at this hotel, so she could find him and use his phone to call ahead and tell them she had been delayed. She would have to change the meeting for next week. That worried her because she didn't want to give them any reason to put her back in jail.

Approaching the front desk, she stood in line for a few minutes while the only person working the front desk helped a couple. Then when it finally became her turn, the lady looked at her in disdain. She should have changed out of the dress, she thought.

"Hi, I'm Candy. Can I help you?"

"Yeah. I'm trying to find Wesley Wyndam-Pryce. Can you tell me his room number?"

"I'm sorry. I can't give that information out. You can leave him a message if you'd like."

"No, you don't see. This is an emergency. I really need to talk to him."

"Miss, I'm sorry. But that's hotel policy."

Faith did not want to get angry with this lady. She tried very hard at controlling her anger. So she did the next best thing. She lied.

"You don't understand. He left me standing up there with four hundred guests. I just have to talk to him," she cried, her eyes tearing up just a little for effect.

"He stood you up?" Candy gasped.

"Yeah. I couldn't believe it. Then I'm thinking that maybe he's hurt or something. Or just maybe he chickened out, because guys can do that to you."

Candy shook her head in agreement. "We wouldn't want one of our guests to be hurt."

"No. That can't happen," Faith added for effect.

"Here. He's in room 1128. Just don't tell anyone I told you."

"Don't worry. It'll be our little secret."

Faith hurried to the elevator before Candy sent someone to follow her to make sure her story held up. Exiting the elevator, she walked quickly down the hall until she found 1128. Thumping on the door, she heard footsteps approach on the other side. She just hoped that the lady had given her the right number.

Wesley wrenched the door open, totally fuming about the intrusion. "What?" he growled.

Then he stopped when he saw that it was Faith. Well, at least he hadn't taken her head off yet, she thought.

"Hey, can I use your phone? Mine died," she asked him cheerfully.

"Sure. Come in."

He held the door open for her to come in. On the bed was an opened suitcase. Wes had taken his suit jacket off and had pulled his tie down a little so it wouldn't strangle him. He handed her his phone and walked off to the bathroom.

Faith quickly dialed the number she was given for the parole guy and left a quick message about the change in plans. She would check in with him in the morning to see if it was all right to change the meeting. She was just shutting it as he came back out of the bathroom with a bag of toiletries.

"Thanks," she told him as she handed him the phone.

"You're welcome. Is there a problem?"

Man, the guy could read her facial expressions like a book. And she'd just let him go on thinking that was just what he could do.

"I missed my flight. And I don't have the money to replace the ticket."

Wesley rolled his eyes at her and pulled out his wallet. "Here," he said as he handed her some cash.

"I'm not taking charity. Besides, I don't need to actually be there until next week. I'll just wait until I can raise the money."

"Now, how would you accomplish that?"

"Here and there," she told him, using his phrase for retort.

"I see," he said as he replaced his wallet back in his pocket.

"So you driving back tonight?" she tentatively asked.

"Yes, I thought about it."

She watched as he crossed his arms over his chest like he was putting up a shield in front of him. She guessed that she would have to break that shield to get through his thick skull.

"Good. Can you pick up a hitchhiker then?"

Wesley rubbed his head with his hands, like he was trying to wash her right out of his hair for good.

"I don't feel that it would be a good idea."

"Fine. I'll just go then," she said as she picked up her bag.

She had made it out the door and down the hall before he called her back.

"Faith, wait," he called to her before she punched the button on the elevator.

"Yes?" she said innocently.

"Come back. Yes, I would pick up a hitchhiker. But just as long as that so-called hitchhiker behaved herself by not tapping on every table she happened to sit behind."

Faith smiled his way and bounced down the hallway to his door. "When are we leaving?"

"Right now," he announced as he picked up his bag and slammed the door home.

He hadn't even let her change. But she had her boots on and her jacket to keep her warm. And the man would have to stop eventually to take a leak. He couldn't hold it that long. Then she would change out of the dress. So she followed him down to the lobby, waving to Candy and giving her the thumbs up as they passed the front desk.

Wesley frowned at her actions as he looked at the lady behind the desk.

"What did you tell that woman?" he mentioned as someone brought around the car.

"Oh, that you stood me up at the altar and I was here to bring you back," Faith spat out as the valet opened Wes's door so he could get in.

"Faith," he sighed, exasperated at what she had done.

"Hey. It beat violence."

"There is that," he commented as he threw his bag in the back seat.

"Get in. I'm driving," she told him as he started around to the driver's side.

"I perfectly capable."

"Of crashing or getting arrested for drunk driving. I'm not riding in a car with you like that."

Wesley sighed in resignation. "You're right." He threw her the keys.

"This is gonna be fun," she said as she started the car, flipping the radio station to one with dance music.

"Very fun," he groaned as she took off like a bat out of hell. "Bloody hell," he moaned to himself.

TBC

Next: Will Faith ever get out of that dress? And it's cold in November in the Midwest. That could affect their trip too. And I have to throw some demons in the way too. Lots of fun in store for them.


	2. On the Road

Chapter Two – On the Road

"OK, where am I going?" Faith asked as she drove down the street.

Wesley gave her instructions on how to get on the interstate. Faith cranked up the heat so her arms weren't freezing. The damn dress was just too flimsy for a November in Chicago. She watched out of the corner of her eye as Wesley pulled off his tie and flung it into the backseat. Then he reached over to turn down the volume on the radio and laid his head back on the headrest.

"Sorry, I didn't realize how loud it was," Faith pointed out.

She started punching buttons to find something a little more conducive for both of them. Settling on a classic rock station, she noticed Wesley sigh a little.

"Thank you for switching the station. That kind of music gives me nightmares."

"Nightmares?"

"Cordelia used to play it all the time."

Faith wondered what was up with Queen C, since Wes hadn't mentioned how anyone was. Cordy wasn't exactly pleasant to her when she was in Los Angeles.

"I don't know if I should ask, but how is everyone?"

Wes was silent for quite some time, almost like he had already nodded off to sleep before her question came out. When he started talking again, it was in a low volume.

"Cordelia is in a coma. Has been in one for quite some time. The others are perfectly fine, I suppose. I do think that Angel is down in the dumps because of Cordy's predicament. It's always hard to tell with the man."

Things had settled down after she had captured Angelus. She had thought that things would have gone smoother after all of that.

"What happened? I mean, if you want to talk about it."

"Cordelia, she," he started, "she had been taken over by some being long before any of what happened came about. The rain of fire, the Beast, Angelus, was all her doing."

"Cordy was the bad guy?" Faith said, stunned that Queen C would stoop to that level.

"It wasn't her. Some evil being who called herself Jasmine in our dimension took her over."

"Sorry, Wes. It must have been hard."

"It was, for everyone. We finally broke Jasmine's hold over us and killed her. But Cordy was put into a mystical coma by giving birth to this thing."

Faith shivered thinking about how gross that would have been. Maybe being in a coma was for the best. Hopefully Cordy wouldn't remember any of it when she woke up.

The two sat still for quite some time, listening to some sixties classic rock as the drone of the heater lulled them into a comfortable silence. Faith racked her brain for something positive to say, something to take his mind off whatever was rolling through that big brain of his.

"So you gave Buffy and her gang a shock," Faith said as she turned the heat down a notch.

"Yes, I believe that I would give them pause."

"She didn't even believe me when I told her who that was in the corner. She thought you looked hot."

Wes laughed out loud at the comment. "Maybe it was all the black. I'll have to remember that."

"Well considering her last boyfriend only wore the stuff, I would take that as a compliment. I don't think I've ever seen Spike in something else."

Faith thought about all of those conversations the two of them had in the Summers' basement before the First destroyed Sunnydale. She really did miss his skewed sense of everything.

"No, me either."

"Hey, you met Spike?"

"Oh, uh, yes once or twice before. He always wore that long black coat, very similar to Angel's I believe."

"Yep, that's him."

Wesley blew out a burst of air, and then settled down beside her.

"How much sleep have you gotten?"

"Enough, Faith. Don't mother me."

"Just askin', cause it looks like we need gas and I would really like to chuck this dress for somethin' a little more comfortable."

Wesley agreed, directing her to pull off at an exit with an open gas station. When they pulled up to the pump, Faith grabbed her bag from the back to head to the restroom. Strolling into the convenience store attached to the station, she noticed that she seemed to be the only one around. Even at the cash register. The hairs on the back of her neck stood at attention.

Backing out of the store, she took off for the car. Wes stood by the side of it, arms crossed against the cold air.

"Something is up in there. No attendant."

Wes's eyes widened with interest. He quickly popped the trunk to reveal a crossbow, a shotgun, and other weapons in a lockbox in the bottom of the trunk. He threw Faith several stakes and a dagger. He gathered up the crossbow and the shotgun just in case it wasn't vampires. Before he left, he replaced the gas nozzle.

"Quick getaway?"

"You never know."

As they strode back over to the store, Faith grabbed his arm before they entered. "There's cameras in there. You wanna get all this on tape?"

"We'll track that down once we're done."

That made Faith feel a little better. Being on parole made her a little more cautious on where and what she fought. Slowly the two entered, checking around the front soundlessly. Wes worked his way over to the counter and leaned over.

"Dead body," he mouthed to her.

He held up a stake in front of him so she would know it was a vampire. Wes then pointed for her to go to one end of the store, and he would take the other. She just hoped that the thing was still there so they could eliminate it before it killed again. Checking each row, they came up empty. It must have left, she thought.

The two met in the middle. Then the unthinkable happened. Someone else walked in to the store. It looked as if they were college students on a snack run. That just blew their chances of getting out of there unseen. Unless Faith could think fast.

"Hey, do you guys know where the clerk is? I'm tryin' to find my beer," she called out.

Wesley punched her in the arm for giving away their position. The three boys headed back towards her, while Wesley scooted away around another aisle to get to the counter in time so they wouldn't see the carnage. The college boys snickered at her outfit, but she stood there proud and tall.

"Don't make fun, now. I just came from my sister's wedding. She doesn't have a lick of sense in her body. I was just lookin' for some Bud or Pabst to tide me over."

One of the college boys strolled over to her to help her look in the case behind her. She knew she was laying on the southern accent just a little too much, but hey, it was better than violence. She saw Wes's head pop up a few times as he dragged the body into the storeroom out of sight. That didn't mean that in the morning when this hit the newspapers these guys wouldn't remember her and what she looked like. But to these guys, she looked harmless, especially in that dress of hers. And they were already way too drunk to be even in a car, much less buying more alcohol.

Wes stood behind the counter as she walked back to the front of the store with her six-pack, no weapons in sight. The college boys followed behind her, probably to get a good view of her backside. She set the beer down as she fumbled around for her wallet, which was stuck in her boot.

"You guys go ahead. I'm not in a hurry."

The three set their copious supply of alcohol down on the counter as Wes rang it up. Then he told them how much it was going to be in a Russian accent. She almost laughed out loud at what he was doing. And he even conveniently forgot to ask them for ID. They had to be underage.

One of them handed Wes a wade of cash. He meticulously counted it out as he deposited it in the cash register, and then bagged all their items. He smiled and told them to have a good day, all in Russian, or what she thought was Russian. The three nodded, and then headed off into the night. Faith waved goodbye to them as they got into their car.

"Damn, you know Russian also?"

"It comes in handy, I assure you."

"What do we do now? Call the police?"

Wes walked over to lock the doors, and then led her into the back to inspect the body. As they did, Faith heard a noise out front. She put her finger to her lips, but Wes had already heard what she heard. There was someone else in the store. As they headed back out of the storage area, the lights went out. The store was pitch black, except for the pumps outside, which provided a little illumination.

Wes grabbed her hand quickly and squeezed twice. Then he pulled her hand over to the left. So that must mean two vampires, over to the left. She just hoped his hand signals meant what she thought they meant. Going on her heightened senses alone, she quietly made her way over to the left. Wes headed off to the right, probably to make sure they didn't try to escape out the front door.

A flash of yellow eyes in the darkness was all that warned her before the vampire was on her. Her stake hit home no more than two seconds later, dusting the thing into oblivion. Her senses did tell her there was at least one more to take down. A scuffle up front told her that Wes had found the other one. She quickly took off to the front, but then tripped on the yellow dress.

"Man, that is one ugly dress," a vampire said to her.

So there were at least two more to dust.

"Not as ugly as your face," she quipped back, jumping up off the ground quickly.

A crash startled her just slightly, giving the vampire an in. He attacked, bringing her down to the ground hard. It was so difficult to maneuver in that damn dress. She heard it rip as she kicked and punched the vampire who was tangling with her on the ground. When she finally got a leg underneath him, he went flying into some shelves, tumbling merchandise all over the floor.

She had dropped her stake somewhere in the fight. So she grabbed her spare from her boot. Sweeping her foot around on the ground, she took him down. Pointing the stake down, she brought it home, making the vampire go poof in her hands.

Running for the front of the store, she found Wes sitting on the ground with a bloody nose, but no vampire around. He held up his stake in triumph.

"There were three, not two," she complained.

"I'm not the slayer, my dear."

"Yeah, you would look kind of ridiculous in this yellow thing. Tapes?"

"In the back," he answered.

Faith helped him up off the floor. Feeling around under the counter, Wesley found a flashlight so they could see. He also grabbed his weapons that he had stashed there before the college boys had seen them. They had no idea where the light switch might be and didn't want to look for it. Taking up precious time like that wasn't worth it. Someone was bound to notice that the lights were out and the place was closed. Wesley pointed to the tape machine over against the wall, yanking out the tape.

"Let's hope this is the only one," he said as they headed out of the store.

Looking around outside, they both waited until the coast was clear and then ran for the car. This was so not what she needed right then. But she knew a good law firm who might be able to take care of it if need be. And she wouldn't even have to tell Giles about it.

* * *

Wesley turned on the car and slowly drove out of the station to make sure no one would remember a car frantically driving away from the scene of a crime. 

"I'm burning this thing as soon as I get to change," Faith told Wes as he got on to the interstate.

Wesley laughed out loud. "I never understood how Buffy could fight in a skirt, much less the outfits that she wore. Not very conducive to staking a vampire, now is it?"

"No laughing, funny boy. I dusted two. You only got one."

"Your taste in beer is appalling."

"Not exactly the mecca for a good beer around here. Did you see what those kids bought? And you let them? The Russian accent was a nice touch though."

"The man who was killed. He was from that region."

"How, how did you know that?"

"Picture ID had a name, above the front counter, along with pictures of his family."

That was the part that Faith hated. All of the people that those damn demons killed had family, somewhere.

"We should call it in then," she added.

Wesley took her hand in his to steady her. This was what she missed about slaying. She really didn't have anyone like Buffy did, someone to share the heartache and misery along with the triumph of beating the bad guys. She just had herself and her pointy stake at her side.

So Faith picked up Wes's cell phone and dialed the police, using the fake southern accent. She didn't stay on long enough for them to ask too many questions, but only told them that she was scared for her life and hung up.

Wesley looked over to make sure that Faith was all right from her encounter with the vampires. Her dress was torn in places and her hair was standing on end, but she looked to be fine physically. What he worried about though was how she was mentally. She could tell that she had been affected by the murder of the cashier. Just as he had been. She just had a harder time hiding it.

"That's it," she announced.

Now he was worried that there was something else wrong that he could not attend to in time.

"I'm takin' this dress off right now."

Now he was in trouble.

"I'll stop," he quickly told her.

"Nah. I'll just crawl into the backseat. It would be just our luck that we'd encounter more demons."

For which she was correct. That seemed to be their luck so far. But maybe he shouldn't judge one encounter as being a trend.

"Really, there's an exit right up the way."

"Don't. Stop."

Faith unbuckled her seatbelt and started to climb into the back. The car was only a two door and not that large. Squeezing between the two front seats, he watched out of the corner of his eye while she maneuvered herself to the back. What he didn't count on was her getting stuck. He got a leg across the chest as she went headfirst into the seat in back. Then a boot smacked him in the face.

"Faith," he called out.

"Oh, sorry. Damn car isn't big enough. Although there was this one time, I managed to squeeze myself and this guy in this VW bug."

"Faith, I don't have to know the details," he shouted as she made it all the way back.

He couldn't help but look back because his rear view mirror was covered in yellow, even though it was dark in the interior. He finally could see again when she managed to wrestle out of the thing, throwing it to the side with a huff.

"Thank you, fuck. That feels better."

All he could think about was what she might have on underneath. Then he started to compute the mileage back to Los Angeles to take his mind off of her in the backseat.

"Ah, shit. Forgot my bag."

Her bag sat on the floorboard of the front seat, where she had flung it before they went to confront the vampires in the convenience store.

"I'll get it."

"No you won't. Keep those eyes on the road. I don't want you to have an accident with me in my skivvies."

Well, at least she had on underwear, he thought. She leaned forward, between those oh so close seats again, this time without much on to cover her skin. Even in the dim light of the dashboard, he could see that she wore black lace. And there wasn't much to it either. Willing himself to keep his eyes on the road, he glanced over while she took a hold of her bag. He noticed that she was wearing a thong. Reaching over, he turned on the air conditioning to cool himself off.

"Hey, what are you doing? It's freezing in here. I'm the one with no clothes on."

He flicked it back off in a hurry. Slowly, she pulled herself to the backseat, but not before giving him another generous view of her front. He swerved a little, righting it quickly. Through the rear view mirror, he could see her pull out a long-sleeve top and some jeans.

"This is not easy, you know. Getting dressed in the back of a tiny car. Let you try it next time."

Not very likely, he thought. He would have rather worn the damn dress before changing in front of her.

"OK, coming back to the front," she warned him.

One leg came over the middle, so that she literally sat on the armrests in between the seats. Her head was bent at an odd angle against the ceiling. As she started to pull her other leg through, she jerked to a halt.

"Damn, something's caught."

"I'm pulling off," he announced.

"No. I got it."

He slowed down anyway, taking the next off-ramp just to be safe. Faith wasn't expecting him to slow down and she still hadn't gotten free of whatever held her between the seats, so when he drove around the curve, she tumbled directly into his lap.

He gasped and she gasped. Slamming on the brakes, he skidded to a halt, barely off the road.

"What the, what are you doing?" she complained.

She was definitely in the wrong place right at the moment. He couldn't even move because then she might think he was getting fresh with her.

"Get off," he whispered.

"I'm trying," her muffled voice echoed.

If she noticed that he was getting excited, she would kill him in the car and never look back. He snuck his hand underneath her to unlatch the seatbelt so that he might better aide her progress. What he encountered though wasn't the seatbelt.

"Not the seatbelt," she ground out.

"Very sorry," he apologized, finally finding the latch, making the seatbelt automatically retract into the car.

The buckle hit her squarely in the face because she chose to move just as he released it. A startled cry came from her as she lifted her body slightly. Then her hair became entangled with his watch because he was trying to help her up.

"Your hair is caught."

"No shit, Sherlock."

Reaching back, she grabbed his hand and pried the hair loose. Sitting up, they came face-to-face, chest to the side of his chest. Her breast pressed into his side, making him grunt at the contact. It had been a long time since a woman had touched him; it was only natural that he reacted. Before he could fully react, Faith had freed her other leg from the back, and pulled it over the armrests. Her knees were now resting on the armrests. She bent over him to scoot her legs back behind her so she could drop into the passenger side. Only she miscalculated and slammed into his chest again. This time there was full contact since he had turned his body directly towards her.

"Damn armrests are killing me. I hate this car," she growled out.

His hand touched her jean-clad hip, wrapping his fingers around her tiny waist. He could feel skin with a few of the fingers. Her skin was hot to the touch, he noticed. Not unlike his whole body at the moment. His other hand was on her shoulder.

"You should move now," he told her.

"You're warm. I'm cold."

He could see the gleam of her white teeth in the dashboard light. Her lips were mere millimeters from his. Her tongue came out to lightly stroke his lips, which made him suck in his breath at the contact. He just needed to remember to breathe in and out so he wouldn't pass out from what was happening.

Sure, he had thought many times about Faith, but he figured that they would never ever touch each other much less kiss. That kiss in the hotel bar proved him wrong. He really did like being wrong on occasion. Especially now. Snaking his hand to the back of her neck, he pulled her across the rest of the way. Her lips were warm against his, moving gently back and forth to create a wonderful friction that felt unbelievable.

Just as he was ready to open his mouth for more, a blast from a semi came from out of nowhere. Faith jerked back into her seat and he adjusted himself properly to start the car. This was going to be a long car trip, indeed. He wondered if he would survive the ride.

TBC

Next: A little more flirting, a little more fighting, and maybe even some talking. Come on, this is a romance.

Author notes: I know, fluffy fic. But with fighting. It makes it more lively that way. I'm sorry I'm stuck on the other sequel fic, but I can't seem to shake the block. So I decided to move over to another story. Also, I'd like to make this NC-17 on another site, but I need to decide. Does anyone have a favorite? I have a few too. And I'm working on finishing my other beast too. Trivia question for all of you. Where have you heard a Russian accent before? Not necessarily on Angel is the clue.

Thanks go out to: Wav, tp96, Tariq, and I hope there's more of you out there. I just wanted to shout out to all of you to say thanks for reading my stuff. I really do need to make a website if I understood some of the mechanics. I'm learning.

Wav—I almost picked teal, but then I remembered that Anya's bridesmaid dresses were teal. Weren't they? I think they were.


	3. Illinois

Chapter Three – Illinois

May 2004 – Somewhere in Michigan

"So?"

"They are on their way, Faith. As I told you before."

Giles stood over the slayer, hands crossed over his chest, a look of anger flashing across his face. Faith sat on a deserted beach next to a lake, blanket pulled tightly around her. It wasn't cold outside, but she was too cold inside.

"Good." She wasn't much on the talking that day.

"Why did you run?"

"Hey, you found me fast enough."

Giles wiped a hand down his face, like he was trying to drive his frustration with her away.

"Faith, I don't need to tell you."

"Then don't," she ground out, pulling the blanket tighter.

"Willow and Kennedy will be calling me shortly. That is all we can ask."

Faith wouldn't let the tears come yet. She had to be strong, at least in front of Giles.

"Your sources are wrong," she concluded, knowing for certain that they weren't.

"I really hope that they are."

"I should have gone, to check it out."

"And we know that's not possible."

Faith sighed because she knew Giles was correct. She was in no condition to fight, much less do some investigating.

"What happens if it's true?" she whispered.

Giles crouched down to her level, touching her forehead with his fingers, brushing away a stray hair. The more he did nice stuff for her, the closer she was to losing it. She really just wished he would leave her in her misery.

"Then we will deal."

"I'm going out of my fucking mind."

"I am sorry, Faith."

"Yeah, sorry."

* * *

On Interstate 80 – November 2003

"God, it feels so fucking good to be out of that dress," Faith started, hoping that she would draw his attention away from the fact that they just had kissed, again.

Unfortunately, Watcher boy seemed to be the type that hyperfocused on something like that. She could see his jaw twitch in the dashboard light. His hands gripped the steering wheel way too tightly. Man, did he have some built up tension going on there. And there was only one way to relieve some of that tension.

"Hey, sing-a-long."

Faith started to move the dial to find a station that actually had some decent music. Dance music was out, because hey usually no lyrics. Country music just sucked, at least most of it did, except for that one guy who had rippling muscles and a nice hat. She finally hit a hard rock station and started singing along with some song from the nineties for which she never could remember the band's name. The hands on the steering wheel wrapped even tighter around the leather. So she kept up her search on the dial.

"Faith, why don't you just relax and rest," he told her as he turned on his blinker to pass a slow truck.

"Kind of hard to, you know. Hungry and horny," she mumbled, not stopping until after it came out.

He must have heard her, because he reached over and turned up the music. Evanescence came on the radio, making her turn it up even more. She nodded her head to the beat of the music, singing along to "Going Under". The lyrics were just so her right then. She had always felt like she was drowning, or going under as the song said in its chorus. As the radio station segued into Coldplay, she saw him relax a little, hands returning to normal.

"So what's your favorite band?" she asked out of the blue.

They needed to do something to pass the time, other than stare each other into the ground and almost have an accident. She could see his mouth quirk up just slightly at her effort at conversation.

"See, mine's any that can make me dance, or sing along. I'm not choosy."

"No classical for you, I'm certain."

Ha, what little he knew about her.

"It has its uses. I listened to it some while I was in prison. They didn't let you have anything that was suggestive or new. It was soothing sometimes."

"It can be," he answered, clearly in awe of her confession. She could actually hear it in his voice.

"So, spill."

"I'm quite fond of U2. I even have some Springsteen in my collection."

"Explains the leather."

"What?" he practically squealed at her.

"Hey, it was in your closet. I saw. No biggie."

Hey, she thought it was a biggie at the time when she happened to open his closet door before her one and only shower in his apartment. She was looking for the freaking bathroom. The leather sat at the side, pushed over for all the dark colors he wore. Not a prissy watcher suit in sight.

"You went through my things?"

"Hey, Princess Margaret, don't get your panties all in a bunch. I was lookin' for the bathroom. And I was dripping blood all over your floor at the time, so cut me some slack."

Wesley sighed a little. "You're right. I apologize."

"You just need to be careful with leather and all. The chafing can really suck," Faith quipped, trying to see if he would sputter back at her.

Wesley just chuckled at her comment. "You are right about that."

Faith almost giggled in reaction. So he had worn the things at least once. She could bet more since she had heard about the motorcycle from Angel. Over the next hour, both were quiet except when Faith wanted to sing along with a song she knew. If she didn't know it, she kept her mouth shut.

"Hey, why don't you sing? It'll keep you awake to drive."

"I don't sing."

There, she had the reason. He couldn't be as bad as that damn vampire in LA had been. Mandy had run through her brain for weeks after he told her that was a favorite. But Wes was not a power ballad type of guy. She didn't think Angel was at first, until she walked through his fucked up dream state after injecting herself with Orpheus and getting bit. Now it all made sense. Too bad she couldn't do that Orpheus thing with Wes. There'd be layers that even she couldn't crack open.

"Don't tell me that you didn't get up on that stage of Lorne's?"

"Once. It was horrible. Of course we were quite drunk at the time."

"Who?"

"Cordelia, Gunn and myself. It was during what Cordy called Angel's beige phase."

"Beige phase?"

"Where he fired all of us and went after Darla and Druscilla."

"I understand the drunk part."

If she kept him talking, he might tell her a lot more about what happened in his life over the past couple of years. When she had last seen him, it had been kill the Beast and bring Angelus in. Not much room for small talk.

"What happened with you guys? You used to be tight or something?"

Wesley flew off the off-ramp, almost putting her nose to the dashboard as he pulled into a convenience store. There were lots of travelers around, so hopefully, no demons. He was being totally Mr. Avoidance on her question.

"I'm hungry. I'll be back," he told her as he exited the car.

"What am I, fucking chopped liver?" she said under her breath as she followed him into the well-lit, lots of humans around, store.

She grabbed some sugary junk food as Wes went to use the little boy's room. As he came out, she thrust her stash in his arms and did the same. When she came out, she noticed he added a few items of his own and was in line to pay for them.

"Thank goodness. The place is clean as a whistle," she murmured as she stood off to the side.

Faith threw him five bucks as the cashier rang up the purchase. The cashier gave him a Styrofoam coffee cup, which he promptly filled and placed a top over. Faith took the bag away from him to dig in as they strolled across the parking lot.

As she looked up, she noticed someone being dragged behind a big truck.

"Damn it. Why is it when we stop, we find problems," she said

She deposited her bag on the ground behind their car, taking Wes's coffee from his hands. She definitely wasn't losing her snacks.

"What did you see?" Wesley wondered.

"A man being dragged behind that truck."

And she so wanted her little snack cakes for the sugar rush. She had to settle for a fight instead. The man beside her tensed up and pulled his sidearm from the back of his pants. Since he had on his jacket again against the chill, she hadn't noticed it. She pulled out her trusty pointy object and slowly peeked around the corner of the truck.

Off in the distance, a man struggled with two other guys, one in obvious vamp face. Faith stepped out so the two could see her.

"Faith," Wesley growled at her for the second time that night.

"Hey, big boys. Come and get it."

She quickly ducked behind the truck with Wesley. He had already put the weapon away and drew his own stake. The two stupid vampires barreled around the corner and ran almost right into the slayer and her watcher.

"Faith, we have company," Wesley said calmly, arms crossed in front of him.

"Yeah. But they're the kind you don't want stayin' around for very long."

Faith shoved the stake she had hidden in her jacket home into the first one. Wesley took care of the other one without too much fuss. Looking around the corner again, Faith noticed that the guy was gone.

"Well, he either ran for it, or we have more problems to take care of," Faith announced as she walked toward where the guy had been.

Wesley followed behind her, looking around for any sign of the guy. Faith looked down and noticed blood on the asphalt. She pointed for him to follow her, holding up her now red finger. He shook his head in agreement and strode after her.

She knew he'd have her back. He probably did it better than most people would, since he usually could anticipate her actions almost right when she did them. Not that she couldn't surprise him at any time. As they walked by a camper, it rocked slightly, meaning there were people inside. Faith drew up short, making Wesley bump into her just slightly. His touch sent a shiver down her spine. But it wasn't their guy. Faith could hear exactly what they were doing in that camper and it wasn't sleeping.

"You think they went in that camper?" Faith asked, seeing if she could embarrass the watcher.

He just glared down at her, knowing exactly what she was trying to do.

"Rather loud, wouldn't you say," he answered back, challenging her.

"Hey, if it's good, then it's good. No sense in holding it all in."

Faith turned to look at him. Grinning like a cat, she licked her bottom lip, and then brushed past him to look down another aisle of cars and trucks. He immediately followed directly behind her. She could feel his eyes bore a hole in her back. Pointing, Wesley finally spotted their target. So there were more vamps running around. Two more had the guy between them. He must be unconscious by the way he was holding his head.

Wesley waved her over to another aisle. She knew exactly what kind of plan he was going to initiate. She worked their way parallel to the pair of vampires, until she was ahead of them. Popping out from behind a large truck, Faith stopped their forward progress, grinding them to a halt. The two dropped the human very hard to the ground.

"Man, you guys are not very nice, now are you?"

"Another tasty morsel," one of them crooned at Faith.

"Wes, do I look tasty?" she asked her watcher as he strode behind the demons to make sure they didn't escape.

"Well, my dear. You certainly have that devour me look tonight, now don't you."

Faith flashed him her middle finger. The two vamps just stood and watched like it was a tennis match.

"Hey, baby. Anytime, anywhere. Hell, we could even do it on the hood of that car you have. Have I told you how hot it looks?"

"The chick likes your car," the first vamp drawled.

Chick, she mouthed over to Wes as the vamps looked at him next. This was just too much fun playing with these guys.

"Yes, having you spread against that car right now is what I'd rather be doing."

She could see the spark in his eyes. Yes, he was playing with her. But was he serious?

"I'm hot just thinking about it," she told him as she flipped her hair back over her shoulder.

"Hey, you two want some privacy, because we can scram?" the second vamp announced. The other nodded in agreement.

"You wanna watch?" she asked the two vamps as she slunk closer to them.

Pulling her top over her head, she flung it to the side. The two vampires focused on her and her only. And they didn't see Wes draw his stake and dust the first, then the second one after the other.

"Stroke of genius, Faith," Wesley told her as he put the stake back in his pocket.

She could see the amusement in his eyes as she picked up her shirt off the ground. Shivering slightly because of the cool air on her heated skin, she moved towards him like she was stalking him. He noticed her intentions and diverted his attention to the man on the ground.

* * *

Wesley couldn't believe that Faith went that far to bag a couple of vampires. The two of them could have taken the demons on very easily, but Faith wanted to play. He watched out of the corner of his eye as Faith pulled her long-sleeve tee-shirt back over her head. Even when Faith was clothed, she could seem naked just by the way she walked. Now was no exception.

After the victim groggily came around, they helped him up and led him back to his car, where his wife was waiting. Wesley told her that they had found him on the ground unconscious and urged her to take him to the hospital. He didn't tell her about the vampire attack, since the man wasn't bitten in any way.

Going back to the car, his coffee and Faith's snacks were still where they left them. She picked up both, but took a drink of his coffee first.

"Oh, geez. This is bad," she winced.

"I'll have you know that's my coffee."

"I'll share my snack cakes with you."

Putting all of that sugar and artificial ingredients in his body made him a little squeamish. Of course he did live on whiskey and take-out not more than a year ago.

Faith pulled one out and held it for him to take. She really was going to share with him. Taking it, he bit into it, grimacing at the amount of sugar that hit his empty stomach. Sugar always did make his stomach uneasy.

"We should set up a driving schedule or something? I can drive, you know."

Wesley threw her the keys for the second time, just realizing how tired he really was. On top of that, his head had started pounding because of the lack of decent food.

"Let's just make it to the next state."

Faith grinned and bounced over to the car door. Great, just what he needed – a hyper slayer. He just hoped she let him get some sleep. She zoomed out of the parking lot, obviously in a good mood.

"Do you mind if I rest for a bit?" he finally asked her as she merged onto the interstate.

"Don't mind a bit. But you never answered my question. What happened between you and the rest of the gang? There didn't look to be too much love when I was in LA."

For the life of him, he couldn't remember what had caused all of them to be so distant from each other. He couldn't come up with anything in his memory. It was all so vague, perhaps something to do with the Beast. But they were all now on steady ground, except for himself.

"Stress can put people in awkward positions. I would say it had something to do with that. We had dealt with plenty before I broke you out of jail. Having Angelus around was difficult."

That seemed to satisfy Faith for the moment, because she became quiet. He closed his eyes briefly, trying to relax his muscles. He had been tense for so long, that it was always difficult to actually relax. He hadn't done it too many times since arriving in Los Angeles.

A few hours later, Faith shook him awake with her hand.

"Wakey, wakey, watcherman. There's an accident up ahead. Looks like the road is gonna be closed for a long time. They're talking days."

"Days?" he said, sleep still fogging his brain.

"Some bridge collapse or something. Maps, maps," she snapped her fingers at him.

Wesley jumped at her actions. Taking out the map from where he had shoved it, he opened it to see if there was an alternate route.

"Everyone else will be doing the same thing."

"Well, just pick something that everyone else isn't doing."

Now she was impatient Faith. And when she was impatient, she usually lost her temper. Wesley had patience to spare. He was always willing to wait for whatever reward or answer down the road, while Faith always ran towards it like a truck barreling off course at top speed. That was why he was chosen to be a watcher, and she was definitely the type to be a slayer. So why hadn't he been patient with her back in Sunnydale?

"Hey, space cadet, are you listenin'?" she asked.

"Oh, sorry. What did you say?"

"I'm turning around," she told him as she flipped the car around in the middle of the interstate.

And it wasn't like she was the only one doing it.

"Americans are such an impatient lot," he murmured.

"Right about that. Instant gratification," Faith smirked.

He would have to remember that she had quite good hearing and that his mutterings would possibly be heard. He traced a route on the map with his finger until he figured out which exit she needed to take. This route would take them out of the way for a bit, but they would be around the disaster up ahead and be able to get back on the interstate eventually.

"Go back two miles, then exit. We'll be going north."

"Hey, LA is south, you know."

"Very much south and west, Faith. Trust me."

"I do watcherman. That I do."

She trusted him? After sending her after Angelus and almost getting her killed? He really couldn't say that he trusted her completely. But he was getting used to the fact that she had reformed herself and that she would fight beside him. He just wished they could rewind their lives until that moment they had met in Sunnydale and he could start all over again, but with the knowledge that he had right then.

TBC

Next: Wes's route does take them out of the way. Hey, another fight. Should I have one each chapter? And a look into the future, again.

Author notes: Wow, I think I changed the premise of this thing. At first, I thought this was going to be a fun, slay-filled ride. Not anymore. Still some fun, some fighting, but more angst, because that's just what came to mind. I really do know exactly how this is going to end (that's a first, the reviewers are saying in their minds). And remember people, this is somewhat of a romance, so don't flame me about that. I am not changing canon one bit. Wes does go back to LA and does start to date Fred, just like in the show. Remember at this point, Fred is with Knox and Wes feels rejected. So everything here is to canon. So if I mess up, tell me, please. I did have some inconsistencies in my last fic with canon. I really don't mind if you tell me. So I'll be jumping back and forth between the road trip and what happens after the battle in the alley.

Thanks go to: All the usual suspects here. Ok, I know, I know. I've lost my mind. I really need to write about someone else in the Angel/Buffyverse. I just can't seem to stop myself. Thanks to Wav, pari106, Illyria639, Mandie, shahid, tariq and all the others. Drop me a line or two or just to say hi. Don't be shy.

Answers to questions:

Wav—you are always so right about stuff. And website? I'm thinkin' I have to start one up.

Pari106—I can't stop writing the pairing.

Illyria639—no ugly dress for now; and I love Faith snark, but not too much snark because it can get old. So tell me if I go overboard anywhere.

Mandie—yay!

Shahid—You are so right; no overdoing the fluff stuff because this I don't think will work the direction I want to take it. Faith's going to be the main character it looks like. And I have to be careful not to get the PTBs mad with the rating, so I have to make sure that the R stuff stays R. I just have to figure out where else to post.

Tariq—thanks for joining the ride.


	4. You Can Run

Author note: Strong language in this chapter. Just to warn you of what is coming. Please read and review.

Chapter Four – You Can Run

June 2004

"Giles afraid that I rabbited again?" Faith asked.

"Can you blame him?" Xander answered her as he stood at the doorway of the cottage where she was staying. "I come in?"

"Not like you actually need the invitation. Yeah," she told him, waving him in behind her.

Xander quietly closed the door, crossing his arms over his chest. Like he was waiting for her to start the conversation. Man, he could be irritating as hell, she thought.

"What'd they find, Xander?" she finally asked.

Xander sighed, pulling a hand through his now much longer hair. Along with the patch on his eye, and the scruffy face, he really did start to look the pirate role. She could see why women would find it sexy.

"They found lots of demon parts and a body."

Faith had been holding her breath right after she asked the question. Either that made her lightheaded or the realization that they found evidence of a battle did. It had taken them long enough. Ten days was way too long to wait for answers.

"Do they know who?" Faith managed to croak out before she hit the sofa with a thud.

"Yeah. Willow seems to think so. The body was badly decomposed. From what the person was wearing, she seems to think that it was someone named Gunn."

Faith swallowed hard. She had hoped that the man had at least survived whatever battle they had participated in. Gunn was strong, resourceful, had your back in a fight. It just wasn't fair at all.

"They're gonna take care of it. Some of his buddies had already been looking for him. They'll give him a proper funeral."

"Nothing else?" she whispered.

"Nah. Willow was surprised that no one had come upon the scene. She said there were some wicked black magicks rolling around, probably hiding the carnage. Even made her sick."

So no other evidence made her worry even more. Giles had been informed of a big battle between a lot of demons and Angel. So where were the others?

"He's probably dust by now, Faith. He went down fighting. You know that."

Which is the way Angel would want to die, she thought. But that wasn't her only concern.

"You should come back to Cleveland now," Xander announced, moving in front of her.

He crouched down, taking her hand in his. She couldn't go back now, if ever. "No. I'm gonna stay here for a little while longer."

"The offer still stands, Faith."

And it wasn't an offer that she would ever take him up on. Throwing himself to the wolves wasn't at all what she wanted him to do. Even if it was for her.

"I can't," she simply answered him.

Xander patted her hand and kissed her cheek. He left with a wave and a nod.

Early the next morning, he came by again, hoping to convince Faith for her own good that she needed to be back in Cleveland with the others. The door was wide open as he pulled up in his car. Cautiously, he walked up the stairs. Looking around the cabin, he found that all of her possessions were gone. She had disappeared, again. And this time, Xander didn't think that she would want to be found.

* * *

"Food, right now," Faith announced as the sun peeked over the horizon.

It was barely morning. Wesley's stomach growled in agreement. He hadn't eaten a decent meal in a few days. Even at the wedding, he had stuck to drinking his meal, instead of partaking in the rubber chicken. They were still on the two-lane road that should have led them past the accident by now.

"Whatever," he groggily told her.

"Greasy diner. My favorite."

Figures, he thought. His least favorite place to eat. He had eaten in these types of places way too much, often because they were cheap enough for him to afford them, and more often enough because they had the strongest coffee when he was coming off a vicious hangover.

They had only been on the road for maybe nine hours at the most. It didn't seem like they had made much progress. It would probably take much longer to reach California than he had anticipated.

Faith practically pulled him out of the car into the diner. There were a few people about since it looked like they had just opened. The smell of strong coffee made his brain clear just a little.

"Do I pick great, or what?"

He wanted to groan back in response, but the joy on her face was unmistakable. She wanted him to be proud of her about something. It might as well be her choice in dining.

"Just as long as they have coffee."

"Grump," she shot back.

He smiled a little at her, because he knew she was correct. His back hurt from sleeping in the car, his stomach felt queasy, and his head was ready to explode. Maybe a hangover was much better.

"Why are you so chipper?" he asked as they sat down in a booth.

"Oh, come on. The sun is rising. It's a new day. And I want pancakes, lots and lots of pancakes."

Someone else in his life loved pancakes. But he didn't want to destroy Faith's good mood by telling her that. It was rare that he had even seen her smile, much less be in a good mood.

"What are you having Wes?"

"Coffee. Maybe some oatmeal."

"Nope. You need protein." Faith waved the waitress over while looking at the menu. "He'll have the number two special. How do you like your eggs?"

His brain was still so foggy, that he didn't realize that now she was ordering for him. "Over easy?"

"OK, toast too. Some oatmeal on the side. I'll have the number three, with bacon on the side. And lots and lots of coffee."

The waitress looked at him, smiling as she walked away. She quickly brought the two of them cups, slowly pouring him the black stuff. What he wouldn't do for a nice cup of tea. But he needed the caffeine jolt to clear his mind.

"Thank you," he told the waitress.

"Any time," she answered back.

Faith's expression became a little cloudy now. Her scowl told him that something was bothering her yet again. He really didn't want to play twenty questions with her this early in the morning.

"Is there a problem?" he cautiously asked her, having no clue whatsoever to the sudden change in mood.

"Why do you do that?"

"What? Ask you a question?"

"Be so polite. Did you see the way she flirted with you?"

Wesley shook his head. The waitress wasn't flirting with him. Women for the most part didn't flirt with him. Even Lilah didn't flirt with him. Cordelia had been the last woman to actually flirt with him and that had ended disastrously. He thought that his disheveled appearance would scare any woman off. Obviously Faith thought different.

"I seem to be quite dense this morning, Faith."

"Typical man," Faith mumbled under her breath.

The waitress came back over again, to see if they needed refills on their coffee. It had only been maybe three or four minutes since she sat the mugs down on the table.

"The food should be out shortly," she told them, smiling down at him again.

Good Lord, Faith was correct. Wesley watched as the waitress's expression changed to a scowl as she looked over at Faith. Faith just grinned up in response, a challenge spread across her face.

"Faith, why on earth do you care what that waitress is doing?"

"Just not right. You're here with me. And it's just tacky."

Now that was the understatement of the year. Faith wasn't exactly the poster child for taste most of the time. Her actions and her dress were usually on the side of risqué. And her language was anything if not challenging to say the least.

"Don't worry. I'll just be oblivious like all the other males of the species."

"You go on and do that."

The waitress quickly brought their meal out. Wesley smiled up at her, politely telling her thank you again, which earned a kick under the table from Faith. He grimaced a little, thankful that she hadn't put any power behind the kick. Faith smiled at him again, but then dug into her food with abandon. He found that he was quite hungry also, glad that Faith had ordered him more than just the small bowl of oatmeal.

Faith downed her meal quickly, rubbing her belly in delight as she finished her last piece of toast. Quietly sipping her coffee, she watched him over the rim of her cup.

"Is there something else I missed? Perhaps a sign from the cook too?"

"Don't be such a smartass."

"I'm not sure why you would think that any woman intelligent enough to put two words together would even take a gander at me."

"Gander? What the hell does that mean? I'm a girl, OK. I notice these things, you know."

Yes, he had noticed that Faith was a girl. Even looking rumpled from a night of driving, she still looked fresh and ready to go. He must look frightful. That must be why the waitress was hovering. Maybe she thought that there was something wrong with him.

"She probably thinks I had a hard night."

"Not too hard though. You look like you've been good and thoroughly fu . . . ," Faith almost finished before he had a chance to put his hand over her mouth.

The waitress had walked up behind Faith without her seeing. He was lucky that he headed her off from her comment. Faith bit his hand to get him to remove it.

"More coffee?"

Wesley shook his head yes, wanting more caffeine to flow through his system so he could actually keep up with Faith. He just hoped when they got on the road she would calm down and sleep for a while. And they needed to find their way back to the interstate.

"That hurt," he whispered to Faith as the waitress disappeared behind the counter.

"You should know better than to shut me up."

"And you think that the waitress is tacky?"

"Hey, I was just talking. Nothing to it."

The waitress brought over the check, handing it to Wesley. Faith grabbed it out of his hands and went to pay for it at the cash register. Wesley finished his coffee as Faith paid for the breakfast.

"More coffee?" the waitress asked again, clearly glad that Faith wasn't sitting at the table with him.

"If I have any more, I will float out of here."

"Nothing like a strong cup of coffee to wake you up in the morning," she answered back.

"Come on, lover. Let's motor," Faith called from the door.

"Yes, dear," Wesley managed to grumble out, watching the waitress's face fall at the endearment.

Faith snickered as they reached the car. "It's a wonder some woman hasn't pussy-whipped you yet," she said as she got into the passenger side.

Wesley stopped and banged his head on the side of the car slightly, hoping that he would wake up from whatever nightmare he was living. Pulling the door open, he noticed the look of merriment in Faith's eyes. She really did love embarrassing him to the extreme.

"And it's a wonder why a man would even want to date you because you're such a bitch," he got out as he started the car.

"Coffee's workin', Watcher," she told him, laughing in response.

"Let's just find some gas and get the hell out of here."

Wesley found a gas station on the outskirts of the town in which they had just eaten. The air had gotten considerably cooler since they had stopped for breakfast. The clouds were rolling in, maybe indicating rain. He just hoped that it didn't snow before they found their way back to the interstate.

Getting back into the car, he drove off as Faith opened the map back up, trying to plot their course of action.

"We should be close to the interstate, Faith. We don't need the map just yet."

"Well, we should be heading in the right direction. It's just the signs don't match. Why don't we stop and ask for directions?"

"I know where we are going. It shouldn't be long now."

"Why is it that men cannot stop and ask for directions?"

"Because I plotted the course last night. We should be fine."

They passed a sign that told them the route they were using was taking them north, instead of south, which was what he thought he had plotted.

"You were driving last night. What happened?" he accused her.

"I followed your directions. Did you ever think that you possibly could be wrong? Oh, wait. That's right. You're never wrong, are you Wes?"

"Occasionally I am wrong. But you were driving."

"You know, you could have driven if it worried you so much about the way we were going."

The fighting wasn't getting them anywhere fast. They were going the wrong way. So he pulled over to the side of the road. There wasn't another car in sight.

"Then you drive," he told her as he wrenched the door open.

"I will, you dork. I bet I can get us to where we need to go," she announced as she got out of the car too.

Wesley stomped over to the side of the road to change places with Faith. She scowled at him, but moved out of the way as he started to get into the car.

"Bastard," she told him before he stepped in.

"Why do you have to insult me?" he asked.

He stopped his forward progress into the car. The clouds on the horizon got darker and more ominous, just like his mood.

"Jerk," she answered back, putting her hands on her hips.

"I am not a jerk nor am I a bastard."

She looked up at him, ready to challenge him. He just hoped it wasn't to a physical altercation, because she would have him pinned to the ground in seconds flat. And the ground was a bit rocky and uneven under his feet.

"How about son of a bitch? Dumbass? Am I getting warmer?" she growled at him.

She had moved over to stand directly in front of him. If she were going to take him down, now would be her opportunity. He stood his ground, glaring down at her. She could take her best shot, he thought. She might not like the results. He still had a colorful store of insults built up in his brain to call her.

"Go ahead, watcher. Call me a name and see what will happen."

She really did want a physical confrontation. Instead, he reached out and brushed a strand of hair away from her face, and placed it behind her ear. Her sharp, piercing brown eyes melted right in front of him. They practically swam with tears at his actions. She had wanted to spar with him. All she got was a touch, which shut her up.

Before he could reply to her expression, the heavens decided to open up and deposit a deluge of cold rain. Instead of letting her take over the driving, he ran back around the car, getting soaked just in those few steps. So now, he really couldn't tell if she was really going to cry because of his tenderness. No one had shown her tenderness in her life that he knew of. Now he figured out how she could be calmed. He smiled at the thought.

"Fuck," she whispered. "What now?"

Wesley grabbed the map from the console and reopened it, finally finding the route they had traveled.

"If we go north for a few more miles, we can connect with another road, which should take us back to the interstate. It will take some time."

"Sorry," she blurted out.

"For what?" he hesitantly asked her.

"I must have missed a turn or something. At some construction or something. The signs were hard to read and I didn't want to wake you up."

Faith hid her face from him with her wet, becoming curly hair.

"It's much harder to drive in the dark when you don't know where you are going. It'll be fine."

"Yeah," she said, not raising her head to meet his eyes.

Starting the car, he turned on the heat. "Cold?"

"A little," she shortly answered.

He thought he liked it better when she was angry with him. It was when she shut down emotionally that he knew there could be trouble.

"We'll find our way back to the interstate. Maybe stay in a real motel tonight and get some rest. Why don't you rest now?"

"Good idea. I am tired," she readily agreed.

Wesley pulled his wet jacket off before getting back on the road, placing it between the seats. Faith was asleep quickly, hair still damp in the now steamy car. Wesley managed to take his jacket with one hand and place it over her. It wasn't wet on the inside since he was quick to get out of the rain before it soaked through.

As she slept, he occasionally looked over at her face, so peaceful in slumber. She looked so young and vulnerable when she was asleep. He just wished she looked that way while she was awake. Faith was always on alert, always making sure everyone around her knew she was in control. What would she be like if she wasn't in control? Probably somewhat like she looked as she tortured him so long ago. But she had control now, over herself especially. That was why she hated it that he pointed out that she took a wrong turn. It wasn't that she wanted to be right. She just didn't want to be wrong, about anything.

The rain gradually turned into sleet, which made the driving a bit more treacherous and slick. Wesley had to slow down considerably. They would be lucky to reach the interstate by nightfall if the weather kept up what it was doing at the moment. And if it became any colder, it would snow. And he surely didn't know if the car had snow tires. He rather doubted it very much, since it was one of Angel's stable of cars. One didn't need snow tires in Southern California.

Wesley had figured out they were in Nebraska somewhere. Small towns and large farms were the only evidence of civilization that he had seen. He just hoped that one of those small towns possessed somewhere to stay the night.

He awoke Faith when it was time for lunch. They ate in virtual silence at a fast food place along the route, getting them quickly back on the road. Faith hadn't said more than two words to him as they traveled along in the car.

"Faith, I wanted to apologize," he started.

"Why do you do that? Always say you're sorry? You know, I'd rather you call me a piece of shit than apologize every few seconds for something that was my fault in the first place."

He wanted to tell her that was just the way he was brought up, to be polite and gracious. And all he could think about though was the fact that this was his coping mechanism around his father when he made an error. Even when he apologized for translating wrong or for not getting a perfect score on some test, his father would still punish him, whether it was physical or just a harsh scolding. It had become a hard habit to break. Even Cordelia and Angel had told him not to apologize for every problem that happened.

"You are not a piece of shit, Faith."

"I was then."

So that was what was bothering her. He had almost put the incident out of his mind after she had proved herself again in his eyes. She had reformed herself. And he had blamed himself for treating her so poorly in the first place. His role in the whole drama was significant.

"You were troubled. Yes, you were to blame. So was I."

"No one deserves what I did to you."

"No. You are right. I didn't deserve it. Nor did you deserve the watcher that you had in Sunnydale. I know now that they would have killed you if they had taken you back to England that first time."

Faith folded her knees up in front of her, looking like she was trying to make herself smaller and smaller.

"Would you like me to stop?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she managed to get out. "I'm glad you helped me out with those fuckheads."

"So am I, Faith. So am I."

"I'm sorry," she whispered, eyes straight forward.

This was the first time she had actually said the words out loud. He knew she was sorry for what she had done to him. And he also knew she wasn't capable of that kind of action now. He just hoped she believed it too.

He reached over and took her hand in his, squeezing to reassure her that he accepted her apology.

"You're still a jerk," she told him, a slight smile on her lips, still holding on to his hand for dear life.

"Comes with the territory," he smirked back.

TBC

Next: More hijinks on the road. They really didn't fight in this chapter. They need another fight. Or something physical. Oh, I don't know. Come back and read, please, please. I'm begging. OK, I'll stop now.

Author notes: I hope everyone is getting what I'm trying to do here. Every chapter will start off with Faith as she is right after "Not Fade Away" happened, moving on into the future. Then I will go into what happened on the trip. Please, please, if you figure out what is going on, e-mail me. Don't spoil it if people are looking at the reviews. I just hope I'm dribbling it out enough so people are getting enough info, but not enough to figure it out. Oh, come on, I like mysteries.

Thanks go out to all you great reviewers again. First, there is a great fic by Xenon that you all have to read. It's about Wes as a ghost and Angel as Buffy's guardian angel. It's really great stuff. Thought I'd plug it here. One slick, good piece of writing. Please review it too. Thanks to Wav, pari106, Illyria639 and everyone else. This one is getting more and more exciting the more chapters I write.

Answers to questions:

Wav—I love you! I'm serious, you know that (I hope people get my sarcasm, but I really do love the reviewers at this site)

Pari106—you'll see what happens; I bet you figure it out, just not too soon though. I'm practicing my mystery writing style in this one. Let's hope it works.

Illyria639—Thanks so much for the review; I'm trying. And hey, you answered my trivia question. That movie was absolutely horrible. The only thing good about it was him playing the Russian guy. There were so many actors in that movie that couldn't act to save their lives. And the script was kinda scary it was so bad. And lastly, I'm not telling you what will happen, exactly. We'll see.


	5. Nebraska

Chapter Five – Nebraska

June 2004

It started snowing a little as Faith drove along the almost deserted highway. When did it snow in June? Only where she was headed, which was nowhere. But it was only a light dusting, not even enough to make the roads slick. She had been traveling for a few days now, trying to put all of the badness out of her mind. The bad in the world would never end. For her it had. She had been pushed to her limit. Not even the coma, not even the breakout from prison and fighting Angelus, not even taking on the First had pushed her to the limit. This had.

Pulling over at a diner, she slowly walked in, hoping that they still served breakfast. She hadn't had time that morning after checking out of the last motel she had stayed. Her stomach could only handle eggs right then. And maybe a side of toast.

"What'll you have, deary?" the waitress asked.

The woman was a lot older than Faith. She looked like she had seen a lot, just like Faith. But her smile was friendly and welcoming. Faith felt a little at ease already.

"Could I have some eggs? Would that be possible?"

The woman smiled at her. "Of course. No problem. How about scrambled? With some toast too."

She knew exactly what Faith needed. "No butter. Just plain."

"Coming right up? What do you want to drink?"

"Milk, and maybe some tea. It's chilly out there."

"Yeah. Every once and a while we get weather like this. Hasn't happened for a couple of years. By tomorrow, it will be sunny and seventy. I'll bring you that tea right away. Just relax."

Faith had relaxed, if just a little. Her muscles were stiff from sitting in a car for days on end. Maybe it would be good to take a short break, stay in one place for a few days. And this place looked pretty much out of the way. She'd sleep and then she'd plan, since she had all the time in the world on her hands now.

* * *

November 2003—somewhere in Nebraska 

Faith awoke with a jolt, realizing that Wesley had slowed down considerably. When she looked outside, she could see the snow falling down in big, fat flakes. And by the looks at the side of the road, it was starting to stick.

"Snow. Figures," she moaned to herself.

"It'll slow us down. It may take us a few more days to reach California."

"Just as long as we make it there by the end of next week." Which meant they had seven days and counting.

"It might be better if we both took an airplane back."

"You wanna spend the money?"

"Not especially."

"Not up to taking the evil empire's dough?"

"You could say that."

So Wesley really did have some scruples. The only thing he had that looked like it cost something was the car, which was probably just a loaner or something anyway. It didn't have that lived in look that cars did when people owned them.

"We should find a place to crash before long."

And she so wanted a shower and change since the clothes she had on were from the day before. They had slayed not once, but twice in the clothes they wore and her hair felt matted from not washing it.

"Yes, I do agree. I would really love to get out of these clothes."

Faith snickered at that. She was wondering what was underneath those clothes too. Since he looked much different than he had in Sunnydale, she was curious if he had actually developed some muscle. He'd been all skin and bones when she tortured him. He didn't look to be that now. He would have to have some muscle to do the maneuvers he had done against the demons he had fought.

"OK, first place we see, then we stop. Agreed?" she asked.

"Since it is almost five in the evening, it makes no difference."

"What? Don't want to stay at the Four Seasons?"

"A bed and a hot shower are all I need, Faith."

Amen to that, she concluded. They drove for another ten or fifteen minutes before Faith spotted a motel sign off in the distance. It didn't look to be great, but it looked decent. Pulling up to the office, Wesley reached over to take his jacket from around Faith. His warm hand brushed up against her neck as he gently tugged it away from her.

"Are you still cold?"

"Nah. I'll live," she told him, not wanting him to know how warm his touch had gotten her.

The parking lot looked to be somewhat full, which surprised her. Must be the snowstorm, she thought as they made their way to the office. The snow started falling faster in the last few minutes, making her shake her hair out as they entered. An elderly man waved hello, looking up from his television.

"Can I help you folks?"

"We would like a room, if you have one?"

"You're in luck. We have one left. Storm has people running for cover. It wasn't supposed to be this bad."

The man held up the one key for the two of them. She just hoped that there were two beds. Just her luck there probably wasn't. Wesley signed the guest book with an alias and paid cash up front.

"Let's go, darling," he said to her in front of the old man.

As they made their way back to the car to retrieve their belongings, Faith was amused by his use of endearment. She knew it was just a cover, but she liked the way he said it nonetheless.

"Get in. I'll park closer to the door."

Wesley pulled into the last spot at the end of the row of rooms. They must have the last room on the left, which meant they only had one neighbor. That was a plus in her book. Only one neighbor to disturb them when she was trying to sleep.

Wesley grabbed his bags as Faith dug hers out of the back of the car. He had his briefcase, along with a suitcase. Faith just had her duffel. She could fit more in that thing than most women could with two large ones. You just needed to know what to bring and how to pack. She had learned that a long time ago. Travel fast and travel light. It made leaving much easier and quicker.

Wesley wrestled with the door, trying to not put his stuff down in the wetness by the door. He finally managed to get it, swinging the door open hard. And it was just as she thought. One bed, a double if she was right. She wondered if he hogged blankets.

"Damn it," she could hear him mumble under his breath.

He hadn't asked the guy at the registration desk either, probably because he didn't want Faith to know how much he truly didn't want to share a room with her. Closing the door behind her, he walked over to turn the heat up full blast. The room was downright frigid, almost colder than the outside. Maybe it wasn't so great being in the last unit. No insulation from the other ones. She could feel a slight breeze coming in from under the door too.

"It's fucking cold in here," she finally spoke out.

"Very much so," he agreed. "If you don't mind, I'm going to shower. I'll save you some hot water, don't worry. I just hope there is some."

Wesley grabbed his suitcase and took it into the bathroom with him. Faith had no other choice than to climb into the bed to keep warm. She piled it with as many blankets as she could find. By the time he was finished cleaning up, she was nice and toasty, only her face showing from under the covers.

"So, I see it's warmed up at least five degrees since I showered," he joked.

His hair was spiky from being clean. She wondered what he would look like if he actually let it grow. It looked like it had some curl to it, but she had never seen it too much longer than it was now. At least he didn't fiddle with it like he did back in Sunnydale. And he still hadn't shaved since they left on the trip. His teeth shown a bright white as he smiled her way.

"It's too cold to get up," she whined.

Toweling off his hair, he climbed in beside her, shivering just a little as he did. "I'll keep it warm. And besides, we'll have to go out and get some food. Go, you'll feel more human if you get it over with."

Faith slowly stood up, grabbed her bag and raced to the bathroom. Wesley had closed the door to not let all the steam out. It made it much warmer in there. Turning on the shower, she quickly stripped out of her clothes and stepped into the warm water. It really was hot, just like she liked it. He hadn't used that much of it either. He must have remembered how hot she had to have it. But she still hurried, shampooing her hair in record time. By the time she was done, it hadn't taken her much time at all. Now the only problem she had now was drying her hair. Taking out the blow dryer, she just turned her head upside down to dry it the fastest. No use in trying to make it straight tonight. Her stomach growled too loudly for that. When she was done with the drying, she could barely get a brush through it. At least all of it would keep her head warm.

She pulled out a turtleneck and jeans, hoping they would keep her warm. Her only sweater wouldn't provide her with much warmth since it was thin and short. Her leather jacket would have to work against the cold.

"I'm starving," she declared as she exited the bathroom.

Wesley had his phone to his ear. "Kill him," he said into it, which made Faith stop short.

Wesley waved her over, pulling the covers up so she could climb in. Who in the world would he want to kill?

"The thing eats babies. That's the only recourse. Chop its head off. I will call soon." Wesley turned to her. "Sorry. I had to leave a message for Angel. He was having some trouble. I thought I could help."

"For a second there, I thought you were calling out a hit on someone."

"Just of the demon variety. I'm not that evil, Faith."

"Didn't say you were. And it's still freakin' cold in here."

"It will warm up eventually."

"What? When we check out?"

"We should go and get food before the weather gets worse. Then we can figure out how to seal all the cracks. It might help."

Faith climbed out from underneath the covers and put her jacket on to keep warm.

"That's it?" he asked her.

She had no idea what he was asking, so she just shrugged.

"Here," he said as he dug out a sweater from his bag.

"What are you going to wear then?"

"I think that what I have on is much warmer than that shirt you have. I'll be fine with the other sweater and my jacket."

Wesley pulled a v-neck sweater over his turtleneck. She couldn't believe it. Both were black.

"You raid Angel's closet before you left?"

"I do own other colors, you know."

"Prove it," she goaded him.

He pulled out a brown shirt and pants.

"Big deal. Brown."

Then he pulled out a dark red shirt, which caught Faith's eye. "OK, so I'll shut up."

She thought he would look better in blue, but didn't want to skew his fashion sense. Then he pulled out a blue one, hanging it up to get the wrinkles out. She almost groaned. The man had finally learned how to dress.

"Quit fussing with your wardrobe, Princess Watcher. I'm hungry."

He didn't respond to her taunt, but pulled on his jacket to follow her through the door. They found an open place not too far from the motel, but it wasn't as good as the diner they had found that morning. Eating quickly, they made their way back to the motel, until Faith spotted a bar across the street.

"Let's go," she said as she started to drag him across the snow-filled street. "Something to keep us warm."

He readily agreed, which either made her feel good or bothered her that he was that interested in the alcohol. From what she remembered of his apartment, he had a huge supply of empties in the kitchen. She just hoped that she wasn't contributing to the delinquency of an alcoholic by leading him into the bar.

Striding up to the bar, Faith ordered a beer, while Wes ordered a vodka tonic. Faith spied a pool table in the back room, so she wandered over to see if the room was unoccupied at the moment. And she really didn't want to go back to the cold motel room just yet. A game of pool might get the blood moving. She just wondered if Wes could actually play. Maybe she should feign ignorance just to see what he would do.

"Pool?" she asked as he took a sip of his drink.

"Anything than go back to that frigid room?"

"You got that straight. You know how to play?"

"Some. You?"

"Not so much. Maybe you can teach me."

Wesley rolled his eyes at her comment, but made his way to the back room. Grabbing a poolstick, he racked the balls just so and then took off the triangle, placing the white ball in front of them. Faith could never remember what each piece was called. She just knew she had to get her balls into the holes, simple as that. He handed her a stick also.

"I'll break?"

"Sure. Whatever," she said as she took another swig of beer.

He broke the balls, shooting them this way and that. He made quite a few in the holes, which surprised her.

"You're solids. Just don't hit in the eight ball."

"Got it."

Faith tried to line up a solid ball, but missed by a mile. Of course, it was on purpose just to see what he would do, but hey it would pay down the road to see his strengths and weaknesses.

"Don't tell me you've never played before," he asked.

"Doesn't mean I was ever any good," she chuckled.

Now she regretted wearing the turtleneck. Now she couldn't distract him with the cleavage ploy. It had worked so many times with other men. And it definitely would work with him.

"OK, how do I line up this shot?" she asked of him.

He put the stick down and made his way over to her. Standing behind her, he showed her how to line up her shot. Easing back ever so slightly, she accidentally brushed up against him. She got the rewarding hiss from him that she had wanted. He backed away as she took the shot, but she missed again. She could feel his eyes on her as she straightened up to let him take his shot.

"You missed," he told her with a certain amount of disdain in his voice.

"Next time, help me more," she said as she strode around the table with him to watch his shot.

He bent over the table to line up his shot, but she leaned against the table close to him. She could see the muscles in his jaw clench tightly as he tried to pay attention to the shot and not her.

"It won't work," he said as he took his shot, making it with a resounding smack.

"What won't work, Wes?" she said innocently.

"Trying to distract me."

"Make you a bet. Next shot, I bet I can distract you."

Wes looked at her in challenge. "You can't touch me in any way."

"You're on. You buy the next round if you miss."

Wes shook his head yes. "More help?"

"Yeah. I'm not getting it just yet."

Moving around the table, he again came behind her, but this time he leaned into her completely, which sure as hell distracted her. He took her hands in his, gliding them to the perfect position. Since he was so much taller than she was, she could feel his hot breath in her hair. It tickled just slightly.

"See. Right there," he told her, voice going deep and husky.

The two shot together as one, sinking the ball quickly.

"Very nice. Now my turn," he stated, wandering around the table to look at a shot.

Faith moved over to a chair that was blocked from being seen in the next room. No one could see what she was going to do. And it would sure shock the hell out of the cocky bastard in front of her. Besides, she was getting thirsty because she just had finished the beer.

Wesley finally lined up his shot, but hadn't taken it, waiting for Faith to do something to distract him. So she whipped her top off just as he was ready to shoot. Which made him miss by a mile since he looked at the last minute.

"That was not fair," he growled at her as she swung the top around her arm.

"Hey, you said no touching. You didn't say no looking or no stripping."

"Put it back on before someone comes in here."

"Make me."

She had put the challenge down. Would he follow through? She certainly hoped that he did. There was more than one way to get warm on a cold, snowy night. He slowly made his way around the table, not taking his eyes off of her as he did. As he made his way over to stand in front of her, his blue eyes twinkled in the light. He'd either kill her for embarrassing him or he'd spank her. She'd like to see which he would try.

"Put it on now," he told her in an even voice.

She just grinned up at him. He bent over to come face-to-face with her.

"No more games, Faith," he whispered to her, obviously trying to hold in his temper.

If she just pushed a little more, she might really get him angry. It might be fun to watch him lose it.

"No," she told him.

Then she quickly swept his legs out from underneath him to crash him to the floor. She was on top of him, pinning him to the ground before he could even blink. Her bra-clad chest brushed up against him, making her even warmer. Now what should she do? She could see that he was beyond angry. While she was contemplating what her next taunt would be, he surprised her by flipping her over and slamming her into the ground, pinning her arms above her head.

"Yes," he answered her back.

"You know I can buck you off and across the room."

"Probably you could. Would you like to try?"

Oh, would she like to try right then. He had gotten the better of her, distracting her long enough to flip her over and pin her to the ground. Where had he learned that move?

"I kinda like it right here, Wes."

He smiled down at her. Instead of what she wanted him to do, he buried his head in her hair. Now what was that?

"You smell incredible," he practically purred in her ear just as his tongue started to trace the outside of it.

A bolt of pure lust shot through her as she lay underneath him. And it was over before they could start anything because someone entered the room. Wesley quickly arose from the floor and blocked the view of her with his body. She pulled the shirt over herself although she couldn't so much as breathe.

"You done playin'?" the voice rang out in front of her.

"I believe we are," Wesley told the man as he grabbed his coat and drink, heading off into the other room.

Faith wrenched her stuff off the chair, following in his wake. He jerked his coat on and was out the door before she could say two words to him. It was still snowing as they made their way silently over to the motel. Unlocking the door, Wesley dragged his coat off and threw it into the side chair. Running a hand through his hair, he sat down on the end of the bed. Faith slowly closed the door and locked it. She could see the emotions play across his face now. She never thought that she could push him too far.

"I care for someone," he finally spoke.

Faith's heart lurched in her chest. So that was why he resisted her advances. Now it made perfect sense to her.

"She doesn't think of me in that way. I'm just a friend to her. She has someone else."

That statement made Faith feel a little better. Wes was pining over some girl. Would wonders never cease?

"So why didn't you made a move on her?"

She so didn't want to help him out. But she felt a little sorry for him.

"I did. She wanted to remain friends. At least, I think that's what she wanted."

"Sorry. I was just playin' at the bar. I pushed. I shouldn't have."

"I should have been honest with you."

"Now you have been. No problem. Really."

No problem that she couldn't solve, she thought.

"Let's get some sleep. We have a long drive ahead of us."

Faith still couldn't get out of her head that he had touched her, had responded to her. Was his almost girlfriend just an excuse or was something else going on? She sure as hell knew that his body didn't lie as they lay on that floor together. She'd have to figure out a different strategy. If he wanted her, then he'd go for it, hook, line and sinker. If not, then no skin off her. She'd have him begging before very long though.

TBC

Next: A fight. Wow, we haven't had one of those in a while. Faith does have her work cut out for her if she thinks that she'll seduce Wes. Will she succeed?

Author notes: I hope everyone is liking this. I haven't written a true romance kind of fic, if you could call this fic that. But we'll see.

Thanks go out to Tariq, shahid, Illyria639, and everyone else. Hey, drop a line if you like or even if you don't, because I know not everyone likes this pairing. No problem on that.

Answers to questions

Tariq—I'm not telling, yet.

Shahid—I'm not telling, just yet.

Illyria639—Don't worry about the spoilerage; no big deal and all. I may not tell you though if you're right. I just hope I use enough clues so everyone shakes their heads and go, OK, now I see when this thing is over. This is my mystery/romance kind of practice in this fic. Keep on guessing away. I just hope I don't blow it and reveal too much too soon.


	6. Don't Look Back

Chapter Six – Don't Look Back

June 2004

The waitress was right, about everything. It had cleared the next day, so Faith decided to stay. The weather actually turned out pretty nice for the next week. And she stayed on longer. Only her money was running out. So using a fake name and ID, she actually got a job. A freaking job. The only job she had ever had was slaying. Waiting tables couldn't be all that hard.

The first week, she must have broken more dishes than take home pay. But the owner was a patient woman. She just let it slide. After that, Faith figured out how to handle things. Darcy was the waitress's name that had served her that first day. And it was also the name of the owner. Darcy had bought the place from the former owners ten years before.

Darcy found Faith two weeks after she hired her sitting down in the kitchen on break. Faith had nightmares the night before and wasn't sleeping very well. It felt good to just sit and make her mind go blank.

"Hey, you feelin' OK?" Darcy asked her.

"Yeah. Peachy. Feet are hurting a little. I'll be fine in a jiffy."

"Take your time. It's slow right now. You sleepin' well?"

"New place and all. It's taking some time to get adjusted."

Yeah, adjusted to sleeping in the car, but she wouldn't tell Darcy that.

"Hey, if your place isn't working out, I have a room available over this place. It's dirt cheap. My tenant just bolted, leaving me in a lurch. What'll you say?"

She wanted to tell Darcy that she didn't have to help her out. She knew what the older woman was doing for her. Faith didn't know how much more kindness she could take. But she needed a place to crash. Her back couldn't take the car much longer.

"It's not much, but it'll keep you warm."

Which was exactly what Faith needed right then. She needed to feel warm again. Her blood had been frozen for way too long.

* * *

November 2003 – Somewhere in the Midwest along Interstate 80 

Faith tapped a pencil against the console in front of her. Wesley had expressly remembered telling her that tapping was out of the question before embarking on the trip. Since getting up that morning, he hadn't said more than two polite words back to her. Faith had taken that route too.

Thank goodness they were on their way again. The interstate was sufficiently cleared of snow for them to travel safely. But another storm was predicted for that evening. Being cooped up with Faith was playing havoc on his nerves. Maybe he could spring for those plane tickets after all.

"Faith, pencil," he growled her way.

She immediately blanched, throwing it down to the floorboard. At least now it was relatively quiet, except for the music playing low on the radio. Wesley really didn't care what she tuned it to, he just needed the distraction. Luckily, she had picked something benign. He sighed as he watched a road sign go by. They were still so many days from Los Angeles.

Faith finally broke the silence of the morning with an insult. "You are such a fucking idiot, you know that?"

Great, now what did he do? If he responded to her taunt, she would no doubt drag him into some discussion about him not being good enough for the task at hand. Or she would just keep insulting him with whatever words she could dream up. He should just keep his mouth shut and drive. Instead, he snorted back, grinding his teeth together.

"OK, tell me this. What fucking moron would look at _you_ and say, 'I just want to be friends'?" Faith said, using an annoyingly high voice for the quote.

"I'm not following."

Apparently she had just segued into what was on her mind, without telling him where she was going with it. Or he hadn't downed enough coffee earlier that morning to comprehend what she was saying.

"When women say that they just want to be friends, they don't want to be friends. You know how many times a guy has said that to me and actually meant it. Zero."

"Are we discussing what I said last night?"

They must be discussing his confession from the night before. He had told her about his dreadful attempts at expressing his feelings to Fred. None of the attempts had worked out in the end. And now she was dating Knox, the jerk.

"And pining for her? What's that all about? Just get over it."

How did he get over his infatuation with Fred? She was perfect in his eyes. A woman that he could definitely spend the rest of his life with. So totally the opposite of the woman sitting next to him in the car, traveling at seventy miles per hour down a snowy road in the middle of America. While Fred was the light, Faith was definitely the dark. While he could discuss scientific discoveries with Fred, he could discuss weapons with Faith. And why was he comparing them in his mind anyway?

"Seems I made a mistake," he finally announced.

"What? In chasing some girl's skirt?"

Faith certainly didn't understand what it was like to care for someone like Fred. He didn't even know why he tried.

"No. In telling you anything," he yelled back, putting obvious hurt into his voice.

He could hear an audible gasp escape Faith's mouth before she turned her head sideways to look out the passenger window. He knew that she was just trying to help in her own way. He just didn't like his judgment questioned by her.

"Sorry," she told him.

"I don't want to yell at you. I'm just not in the most gracious mood right now."

"I'll shut up then."

"So will I."

Pulling off the interstate at lunch, Wesley found a fast food eatery and ordered burgers for the two. He didn't even park to eat since he didn't want to sit in a silent car with the now sulking slayer. She hadn't even turned her head his way as he ordered. Handing her a bag, he quickly drove back to the entrance of the interstate.

"Wait," Faith said, grabbing his arm. "Pull over."

"Listen, if this was about what I said," he started to tell her.

"No, no. Over there. Back in that alley. Turn around. I saw something."

Wesley immediately complied, because Faith's eyes were much sharper than his were. He drove down the alley behind the food places. Faith looked all around for something.

"What did you see?"

"Two guys. Something suspicious. I'm not sure. Stop," she said, putting her bag of food down.

She opened the car door and stepped out without him backing her up.

"Wait, Faith," he said as he completely stopped the vehicle.

Faith turned all around the alley, trying to find what she had seen. He distinctly remembered later on that looking around, not up or down wasn't the best plan in the world. So many creatures came from below or up above. At least they weren't vampires since the sun was still out.

Whoever or whatever the creatures were came flying from up above, one crashing into Faith, the other into the car. It put a big dent in the hood. He watched as Faith went down hard to the ground. Pulling out his weapon, Wesley fired at least four bullets into the thing. It lay momentarily stunned on his hood, and then advanced on him with super speed. As Faith flung off her adversary, he went down to the snowy ground, losing the weapon. The snow did provide a softer cushion from the brutal, uneven pavement. Only there was something underneath the snow, which he couldn't see and it rammed into his back with great force. He screamed out in pain as the creature tried to clamp down on his shoulder with its now bared teeth.

The creatures had taken human form in public, but now that they had been confronted, they morphed back into creatures with very sharp teeth and spines down the middle of their heads. Wesley held the demon back as best he could, trying to push it off of him so he could reach his knife in his boot. But the thing was strong. He wasn't making any headway whatsoever. He could hear Faith on the other side of the car pounding on the other one. Hopefully she would have much better luck. And she might lend him a hand if nothing changed about his situation.

He finally found a little leverage with his legs, since they were much longer than the demon's were and he was able to knee it and push it off of him just long enough to retrieve his knife. It scrambled up to take him on again, but met the end of his knife as it jumped on his prone body still laying the ground. It moaned in pain, but still wouldn't give up. Wesley's hands were coated with bluish-green goo that must be the demon's blood. It covered his front now, so the shots must have hurt the thing some. So he grappled with it, one hand on the knife hilt, trying to keep it from digging into his stomach and one pushing its face away so it wouldn't chomp down on him.

Faith finally dispatched her foe, slicing its head off. The head came rolling into view in front of the car as her foot connected with the wounded demon on top of him. His knife came out with a sickly sound as the demon flew through the air, landing a few yards away with a thud. She quickly decapitated that one too, giving Wesley time to catch his breath.

She appeared a few moments later, leaning over him.

"What the hell were those things?"

"No idea," he said, still lying on the ground.

"Strong fuckers, that's for sure. You gonna lie there all day and rest?"

"My back seems to be giving me fits."

Wesley rolled over onto his knees and just stayed there for a little while.

"Getting old on me?"

"Yes. Apparently I am."

And he still couldn't get up. He wanted to ask for her help, but concluded that it might not be such a great idea. He felt a light touch on his lower back as he tried to stand for the second time.

"Let me look before you get up."

Faith pulled his shirt out of his pants. Her fingers grazed his now naked back, looking for injuries he knew he didn't have. The creature just made his muscles clench up. It would take some strong painkillers and a hot bath to make them right again. Then she pressed down with such a force that he thought she was going to kill him. He ground out a low, guttural cry from the force of her touch. But then something miraculous happened. He could actually move now.

"Sorry. Didn't want to warn ya. You'd tense up even more. Can you move now?"

Wesley gingerly arose from the ground, taking her arm to steady himself. He was stooped over, but at least he could move.

"Who taught you that?"

"Learned it here and there."

"That bloody well hurt."

"Not as much as kneeling on the ground for the rest of the day. Get into the car while I throw away the trash."

One good thing about getting injured – you weren't on clean-up duty. He watched from the car as Faith quickly deposited the demon corpses into a dumpster. He just hoped that no one saw or heard what just happened. And if they did, they hadn't called the police. Running back to the car, she climbed into the driver's side and grinned as she put her seatbelt on.

"Damn, that was fun."

"Yes. Let's do it again sometime," he drawled out. "Next time I'll sit in the car while you have all the fun."

"Oh, admit it. You like the danger," she said as she pulled out of the alley to head to the interstate.

"I like the part of making sure no one gets hurt. The danger I could live without."

"But then it wouldn't be any fun."

"I feel like I'm on a merry-go-round right now talking with you."

"Hey, those can be dangerous too. You spin, you puke."

He had felt like vomiting when his back spasmed on that ground. But Faith was there to pick him up and help him. When they weren't fighting with each other, they made a good team.

He watched her as she drove. The fight had put her in a better mood. She bobbed her head to the beat on the radio, even grinning a little from time to time. He was glad that her mood had improved, since his hadn't. He still didn't know what to think about her proclamation. Should he just get over it, like Faith so announced? Fred wasn't exactly the kind of girl that one just got over. But he had blown it with her. Moving on would seem like the best course of action. As was apologizing for his outburst with Faith before lunch.

"I wasn't pining over her, you know," he spoke up as he turned the radio down so she would actually listen to him for once.

"Could a fooled me."

He sighed, exasperated with Faith once again. Why couldn't she understand the fact that love just wasn't that simple? And did he really love Fred or the concept of Fred?

"You think that I'm fooling myself then?"

Faith snorted at his comment. "Like I know what's right or not. Not the expert here. Relationships and me just don't mix. I do know that it's not worth it wasting your time on a person if they don't even see you. You know, for what you are and all."

Faith the master psychologist, he thought. Maybe her time in prison did afford her much time to think about such things. He had been so busy in the last couple of years, sometimes he couldn't think straight, much less know what his heart was saying to him.

"What am I, Faith?"

No answer. Just silence. He looked over to see that Faith's forehead had wrinkled, like she was thinking very hard about her next statement.

"Not the easiest question. I'm not sure at all what I am these days. There has been too much going on in the last couple of months. I just don't know."

His self-doubt was very evident right then. It was always there, in the back of his mind that he would never had the self-confidence that Angel possessed. He thought he had gained some confidence in the last year, but it all seemed for naught in the last couple of months. Like he had been catapulted back to before they went to Pylea. Now, he didn't know his place again. And Cordelia wasn't there to kick him in the rear like she did when he got down on himself.

"I just wanted to formulate my plan, watcher. OK, here goes. One, you're smart."

"Yippee."

"Hey, no sarcasm until I'm done. Got it?"

Faith zoomed around a slow van in the right lane. She really did have a lead foot, but he didn't want to complain since she was about to enlighten him with her knowledge. And he had to control himself not to roll his eyes every time.

"Yes, dear."

"Two, you can handle yourself in a fight, unlike your Princess Margaret days."

"I think there was a compliment in there somewhere."

"Shut it."

Wesley gave her a salute and quickly did as she asked.

"You've actually learned how to dress is three. Four is you got rid of those glasses, cause I never could tell what was going on in those eyes of yours with them on."

Wesley started tapping with the pencil he had watched Faith toss to the ground not too long before. Her food lay untouched by his feet on the floorboard. Maybe he should tell her that neither of them had eaten. But she told him not to speak until she was done talking.

"Five, you're not that skinny runt you were in Sunnydale. Six, you can read all those languages and things that I could never do."

"You're repeating yourself," he pointed out, which earned him a glare.

"Seven," she ground out, "you're really fucking annoying, but in a good, sarcastic way. Eight, and let me tell you these are by no means in any particular order, but your personality has done a 180, which in my book is a total plus."

"Now that did not make any sense whatsoever."

Faith pulled off the next exit quickly, sliding to the side of the road because of all the snow built up from plowing.

"Didn't I tell you to let me finish?"

"Indeed you did. I just don't see where this is headed. Besides, neither one of us has eaten."

"Give me my food then," she growled to him.

She reached over as he bent down to retrieve her bag and they smacked heads sharply. Now on top of everything else, his head ached. He wondered if he should get out and open up the back to get his aspirin out of his suitcase.

"Nine, your head is so fucking hard. Do you know that?" she told him as she held her forehead.

"Let me see," he finally said.

Wesley pushed her hand away to see a big red spot in the middle of her forehead. He touched it with his thumb, getting a slight wince out of her.

"You just fought a demon that took decapitation to take it down, and a little bump makes you wince?"

"As I said, you have a really hard head," she said as she opened her eyes to look into his.

He hadn't realized how close he had moved over to look at her supposed injury. She placed her small hand on the side of his face he knew just to make sure he didn't pull back. Her touch was warm and made his skin tingle. Interlacing his hand with hers, he tried to remove it, but instead she held tight. He tilted his chin up and placed a small kiss on her now almost back-to-normal red spot.

"Better?" he managed to get out.

"Ten. When did you get so damn hot?"

That should have been the danger signal from her, but he seemed to be mesmerized by her brown eyes at that moment, and didn't move fast enough before her lips captured his. Not that he didn't like her affections. He just didn't know if he could stop this time with just a kiss.

Faith opened her mouth, sweeping her tongue out to make him do the same. He heard off in the distance the sounds of the freeway, the sounds of a horn blaring. But this time, he wouldn't let anything distract him from tasting her thoroughly.

Burying his hands in her thick hair, he deepened the kiss until he heard her moan. He hadn't realized how responsive she would be to his ministrations. Wishing that they drove a larger car and it wasn't the middle of the day, he slowed his progress, trying to pull back to tell Faith that they should stop what they were doing. It wouldn't be good to be caught necking at the side of the road by a police officer.

When he finally did catch his breath, Faith giggled a little when he opened his eyes.

"Eleven. I love your eyes," she practically purred at him, giving him one of her trademark cat-like smiles.

As she started to dive in for another go, her eyes widened in surprise. And it wasn't anything that he was doing to surprise her.

"Shit. Get down, Wes," Faith yelled as his window shattered.

A large claw raked down his seat as Faith pulled him down out of danger.

TBC

Next: Cliffhanger. I know, complain, complain. Grumble, grumble. You reviewers don't like cliffhangers. I love them. Just think of this as a commercial break. I hate commercials though. What the heck was that coming through the window? Another fight? Does Faith have some kind of demon radar attached to her or something? She sure does run into trouble a lot. More happenings with the future also.

Author notes: I have not one, but two endings worked out for this. When I get there, I may need some help. When I do, I'll quiz everyone to see what he or she likes. Or maybe not. We'll see. But I really do know exactly how it should end. Until then, keep guessing about what is going on. Please remember, I'm still working from canon. So everything that happened in season five, will happen. Just a reminder.

Many, many thanks go out to all of you that have been reading this crazy, wacky thing. This was my practice my romance/mystery fic this time. I hope that's what I'm doing. So keep reading and reviewing. I'm having so much fun with this one. Thanks go out to: 12345 (yay, new reviewer, I hope I don't scare anyone off, because I love new reviewers), Steph, shahid, Mandie, qkith, Illyria639, AllenPitt (another new one), pari106, and all the others who are reading. Thank you.

Answers to questions:

Steph—Woohoo. Thanks for following. Faith, snow? Lots of thoughts running through my head. Yeah, and I was thinking about posting it there also. I'll give a heads up when I do. Hey, it's not NC-17 yet. It could be though.

Illyria639—you are so funny. And I'm not telling.


	7. Layover

Note: Sorry for the delay on this chapter. My house has become a cat hospital right now. Very sick, very old cat. I have to give shots, IVs (no, not in a blood vessel thank goodness, way too tiny) and icky medicine. The things we do in the name of love.

Chapter Seven – Layover

March 2005

In the early morning hours, Faith got up and padded to the refrigerator after hearing the noise that she had heard now for the last seven months like clockwork. Since it was time to get up for work anyway, she slipped on her robe to ward off the chill that had developed overnight in her small apartment above the diner where she worked.

A late winter storm had blown through the night before, leaving the landscape outside a clean white. The sun hadn't risen yet, but her internal clock always was right. Since she didn't patrol anymore, she had to adjust to actually sleeping at night, instead of during the morning hours. It suited her to live like most other people did in the small town where she had finally settled.

Hearing a crash in the alley, Faith looked out the window to see someone rummaging through the garbage cans. This didn't happen ever. People took care of everyone here. If someone needed a job, then one was found. Just like what had happened when she had pulled into this little town a little over eight months before. Darcy had taken Faith under her wing, practically mothering her, making her want to stay.

Faith felt safe for the first time in her life. And she wouldn't let any badness hurt anyone she now considered to be friends. Slipping her shoes on, she crept down the back stairs and opened the door slowly. And sighed in relief when she saw that Darcy was just taking the garbage out. Shoving the stake behind her back, she called out to the older woman, just to make sure everything was all right.

"Darce, what are you doing out here?"

"Trash, is what. Tracy left it last night. I didn't want to start the day with a smelly kitchen. It ruins my day, you know."

Darcy did want things just right in her kitchen. Order did have its place at the diner. Faith had learned that early on.

"Come on. Back inside. It's too cold to be out here."

"I'm fine. I've been doin' this since before you were alive."

Darcy crossed the alley and stepped into the back door. Faith looked around, never losing that habit of just checking things out to be safe. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a movement at the mouth of the alley. She couldn't be sure, but it looked to be human by what little she saw. Or it could have been something else entirely.

"Promise me somethin'?" Faith asked the woman as she closed and locked the door.

"Yeah?"

"Don't go in that alley unless it's light outside. It's just too spooky back there," Faith told her, her tone very serious.

"In this town, what could happen?"

"Plenty. Just promise me. OK?"

"And who's the worrywart here?"

"Just cautious is all. Now I'll be down shortly."

Faith turned her head and listened for a familiar sound.

"Hey, you do that. I got a hankering for some of those muffins you made yesterday."

"They're scones, Darce."

"Yeah, those English things you keep talkin' about. Good stuff."

"Yeah, really good stuff," Faith agreed, thinking of the past.

Faith walked the woman back to the kitchen and headed upstairs to start her life anew on that cold morning.

The figure that Faith had seen briefly in the alley stood behind a building, trying to relax. Faith hadn't seen him. Or at least he hoped that she hadn't. He needed to talk to her, to warn her of what could be coming. He had tracked her here this far. And if he could track her, then the other one could also. And he didn't want to see her hurt any more than she had been. He'd stake his life on that.

* * *

November 2003

Faith was so glad that she had seen the motion outside the car. The claw that raked down Wes's seat would have caught his chest deep. She wouldn't have been able to defend from an attack like that. But before she could yank her door open, the creature with the wicked claws tried a different tactic. It instead pulled Wes directly out his window by the back of his jacket. Faith closely followed through the now shattered window.

It looked like she was facing the fucking Abominable Snowman. It wasn't as big as it was portrayed in the cartoon, but it was white and had the really sharp teeth and claws. It did outweigh and top Wes by at least a foot. She could see its muscles clench as Wesley struggled to get away from it. So Faith did the only thing she could think of. She pounced on it like a cat.

Raising her fist, she slammed into it after making a considerable leap. Its head snapped back slightly, causing it to let Wes go from its claws. She went tumbling to the snow with the white beast as it lost its balance in the slick, slushy stuff. Wes rolled off to the side so he didn't get crushed like a pancake.

Her fist reared back again as the thing struggled to regain its footing, hitting it in the midsection. Wes had now scrambled away, heading for the car and weapons. Faith was finding out in a fat hurry the thing had a thick hide, which meant it would be difficult to take down. Her punches didn't seem to have much effect on it at all. And her knuckles were still a little sore from the last encounter not more than an hour ago. Who knew that the Midwest held so many demons just itching for a fight? She kind of felt like she had some tracking device on her so they could find her at any given moment.

The creature threw her across the snow, which thank goodness provided a soft landing. The only problem was it was deep where the thing had tossed her. It was up to her knees, making any fast moves a big problem. It didn't seem to have that problem at all since it was able to lumber over and slug her.

"Wes, weapons," she screamed.

Blood streamed down her face from the mean fist the thing had aimed her way. What she really had to avoid though was those razor-sharp claws. Several times it had taken a swipe at her. They were long and very deadly, which could slice her up fast.

Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Wes charging for her, crossbow in one hand and a really sharp sword in another. The old Wes would have probably fallen down and stabbed himself. This one fired bolts into the demon's body, all the while holding the sword in his other hand. Multitasking at its finest.

The thing turned to see where his other attacker was, so Faith leapt onto its back. Pulling her dagger from her boot while hanging on by one arm, she stabbed it in the neck. It roared in pain, but managed to flip her forwards into the snow. Now she was directly in front of it. The look of murder in its eyes said it all. They needed to work fast or both of them wouldn't survive this encounter.

Another barrage of arrows flew by and Faith ducked. A few actually stuck this time, making the creature bellow. Its claws finally struck home in her flesh, hitting her leg. Luckily she had moved away quickly, so it didn't go deep. Her dagger was no match for its long reach. Unless Wes could reach her in the snowdrift, she'd have to figure out a different strategy to take it down.

Rolling until she could actually stand, she threw the dagger, puncturing some kind of main artery, because red blood spurted out, turning the snow a sickly color. But the thing still didn't go down. Backing away as quickly as she could manage, the thing hit her again with its claws, this time catching her in the stomach. Now that did burn like fire. Punching out, she caught it on the arm, only to be backhanded out of the snowdrift.

Clutching her stomach from the pain, she watched with narrowing vision as the thing came towards her. Wesley ran to stand in front of her, not attending to her just yet, but to try and defend her, hopefully taking the thing down in the process. As she slipped into unconsciousness, she heard a scream of agony.

* * *

Wesley stabbed the thing a fourth time for good measure, just to make sure it wasn't getting back up. Anger coursed through him for not having his gun on his person. He had tossed it onto the backseat right after he and Faith had gotten into the car from the last demon attack. He had managed to avoid its claws, something that Faith hadn't. Slicing down, he took its head off to play it safe. He staggered over, reaching down to Faith to see if she was badly hurt. He could see the wound on her leg and stomach stand out against her shredded clothes. They weren't bleeding profusely like he had first thought. They didn't look to be too deep. So why had she passed out?

Dropping to his knees, he inspected the one on the stomach first, noticing a residual sticky secretion on the open wounds. Was she drugged? Was she infected with something from the creature? He couldn't be sure at that point. And he surely couldn't take her to a hospital to check that out. His back tried to seize up on him again, but he buckled down and picked her up, almost dropping her when he felt an agonizing burn coming from his lower back. Willing himself through it, he opened the now windowless door and gently placed Faith on the seat.

As quickly as he could, he made it around to the other side, gunning the car to get it off the side of the road and out of there. He didn't want to take the chance that there were other creatures like that roaming around, waiting for another go at them.

Wesley racked his brain, trying to assess what he had available with him in the car. He knew of several healing spells, but he didn't know whether he had enough strength in him to perform any of them. Ready to take her to the hospital, Faith came around finally, mumbling incoherently. She grabbed his arm in her daze to make a point before passing out again.

"No fucking hospital, watcher," she managed to squeeze out before dropping over to the side, clearly unconscious this time.

The first motel he saw, he exited the freeway. He asked for the room the farthest from the office, saying that he wanted his privacy. The man at the desk just winked at him and gave him the key. Even explaining that Faith was sick didn't earn him anything other than a shake of the head. The guy probably thought that they were there for one thing only.

As he arrived back at the car, he slowly gathered Faith out, half carrying her, half dragging her to the room. Luckily, there wasn't anyone around to pester them about her state. He placed Faith on the bed and ran to get the rest of their belongings. Then he moved the car to a hiding spot away from the room. Clearly, something was going on beyond his control. They had encountered way too many demons, whereas he had encountered none on his way out from California. He wanted to chance it and call Angel. But he felt that it wasn't wise until absolutely necessary.

Pulling the curtains to, he turned on the light by the bed to provide some illumination to check over Faith's injuries. She still hadn't awoken since her proclamation of not wanting to go to the hospital. Her breathing wasn't labored and her skin wasn't hot or cold. But that could change in an instant. Lifting up her shirt, he saw that the wounds did not look very deep. They wouldn't require stitches. The slayer healing had already started to close some of the most superficial ones.

The wound on her leg though was a bit deeper. But neither one should have caused her much discomfort since she was a slayer. He had seen her take much more and bounce back to annoy him further. Something else was at work here. Slowly, he worked her boots and pants off. One thing that did frighten him was the color of her skin. It was even paler than it normally was. Since Faith was a creature of the night, she tended to have quite pale, almost alabaster skin. Her years in prison had seemed to make that trait even truer.

He had grabbed the first aid kit from the car, knowing that it contained a little more than the average kit, since all of Angel's cars were equipped as such. He first needed to clean the wound thoroughly, and then ascertain if the creature had somehow infected her with something from its claws. Taking a dampened washcloth, he cleaned off the site as best as he could, then he swabbed it with alcohol and hydrogen peroxide and smearing it with antibiotic ointment just to play it safe. Faith didn't even flinch, which must mean that she was completely out of it. He next took care of the stomach wound.

Wrestling her tattered shirt off, he tried not to pay attention to how lush and beautiful Faith's body was, but it was damned hard to not. If she knew his line of thinking, she just might slug him or she might want him to join her on the bed if things had gone the way they had been going in the car. He really did need to reassess what on earth they were doing on that count. Cleaning these wounds, he sat back to figure out what to do next about her injuries.

Going through everything in his head, he had concluded that it couldn't be coincidence that they had battled that many demons since leaving Chicago. Sure, the first encounter he could believe. But the others seemed to happen too close together. He'd have to ask Faith if she had made any new enemies lately. Not like he hadn't made some also. Wolfram and Hart could be contributing to it too.

Turning off the light in the room, he then inspected her wounds with his flashlight, trying to see if anything else was glaringly apparent. Nothing showed up. He wished that he had some kind of blacklight, to see if any kind of glow would show up under that particular kind of illumination.

So he really didn't have anything to go on, other than the fact that Faith was now unconscious. He needed to research this, but had no means to do so in the room. Pulling out his cell phone, he opened it up to place the call to Angel. Then he closed it again. He had used it several times since they had left Chicago, checking messages, but never actually talking to anyone. It was his cell phone, not one that the firm had given him. He wanted his conversations to be private. But what if they weren't. They weren't leaving a credit card trail, since he used cash to pay for almost everything since the trip began.

After Wesley popped the battery casing off the phone, he looked for a way to open the thing up and inspect it. Digging his small tool kit out of his briefcase, he managed to finally open the internal workings of the phone. He knew enough about phones and how they worked to realize that there were too many pieces in this particular phone. He was being tracked. Probably by Wolfram and Hart. But was that a bad thing?

Faith had failed to take Angel down for the law firm that one time. Could they be gunning for her? Or could they be gunning for him? He hadn't exactly joined in on the company plan. Fred and Gunn seemed to blend in nicely. He just irritated the hell out of everyone he came into contact with daily. Most who worked there now turned away as soon as they saw him coming.

But who on earth would have imagined the scenario of him offering a ride to Faith in the first place? It definitely wasn't planned. Most people would have probably said that it would never happen. No one really knew what had happened between the two the last time she was in Los Angeles. He was certain that Wolfram and Hart had no knowledge of their time spent together taking Angelus down. Yes, they could figure out certain aspects of that mission, but not how they had worked together as a team. Most still thought that the two of them hated each other with a passion.

So the only conclusion he could come up with was it must be Faith. She had done something to warrant the attacks. Not that she had purposely caused the attacks, but nonetheless they seemed to be more directed at her. And the attackers seemed to be demons he had no knowledge of whatsoever. That was saying something if he didn't know about them, since his mind tended to work like an encyclopedia.

In his mind, he tried to ignore the fact that someone had sent demons to kill, not just scare. But they had almost died this time. There were just too many variables, no matter whose problem had struck. He and Faith were sitting targets until he could help Faith.

He needed to contact Angel as soon as he could to figure out if Faith was in immediate danger from some kind of toxin. But he was afraid to leave her for any length of time to find a pay phone. Until he was certain she wouldn't die, he would have to keep watch over her. Or if it became necessary, he'd have Angel send in a team to get them the hell out of there.

A couple of hours later, Faith managed to open her eyes. The movement at first startled Wesley, but he was grateful that she was finally awake.

"What happened?" she rasped out.

"The demon clawed you. Do you remember?"

"Vaguely," she slowly said, grimacing at the pain in her leg as she tried to move it.

"How do you feel?"

"Like a truck ran over me. Is it hot in here or is it me?"

Observing that she had been peaceful on the bed, Wesley hadn't checked her temperature in a few hours because he didn't want to disturb her. Touching her forehead, he realized that her skin temperature had elevated since last checking. Faith kicked the blanket he had placed over her off to the end of the bed. She giggled a little as she looked down at her state of undress. Her undergarments didn't really cover much.

"Make you blush?" she asked him as she dropped her head back down on the bed.

"I was tending your wounds."

"Yeah. I know. Sorry I was out of it when it happened."

At least she was coherent, he thought. Enough to be flirting with him. Which hopefully meant that she would come out of this unscathed. Reaching her hand up, she lightly touched his arm, rubbing her thumb over his forearm.

"You should rest. You have a fever. It'll help."

"Yes, watcher."

Wesley shook out some antibiotics from the supply. "You need to take these."

"Where'd you get those?"

"Medical kit in the car."

"You are such a boy scout. Got any condoms in there too?"

The old Wesley would have choked. The new Wesley smirked her way. "What flavor?"

"Damn, you are funny."

Suddenly, Faith arched her back in pain and bit down a scream.

"Faith, what's wrong?"

"It hurts," she cried out.

"Where?"

"Everywhere."

"I need to call in reinforcements."

"Don't you dare call Angel."

Wesley picked up his recently put back together phone and opened it up to dial. "I don't know what to do for you."

"We both know that this is fucked up. Someone's after us. I've fucking figured that out already. Use that big brain of yours."

Faith breathed in and out finally, after whatever pain she was experiencing had passed. Placing the blanket back over her, he pulled out the thermometer and took her temperature. After performing that task, he read it to be only 102 degrees.

"You invite any trouble lately?" Faith panted out.

"What haven't I done?"

"Any real threat?"

"Could be. You?"

"Hey, slayer? Remember. All the fucking time. But nothing really scary right now. Just the regular customers."

The thought of his father ran through Wesley's brain. They had never really ascertained if his father had sent the cyborg replica to take down Angel. Obviously, the Council hadn't done it, because he had immediately called Giles to rant right after talking to his very much alive father. Giles vehemently denied it and Wesley had to apologize to him for his surly attitude over the phone.

"So what do we do? I'm about as weak as a kitten. How's your back?"

Concerned Faith made him tense up a little. Would he ever get used to her being on the side of good and sane? Insane, evil Faith was so much more realistic. The Faith on the bed in front of him seemed to be a million miles from the girl he knew from before. Just like the man he had become was a million times different from the one who knew her back then.

"I'm fine," he announced.

"Just don't fall down on the floor. I don't think I'd have the strength to straighten you up again."

"I won't, I assure you."

"Then no sleeping on that ratty chair."

Faith's body involuntarily shivered just then, making him wonder if this was the wrong course of action. Her slayer ability to heal may not be able to handle whatever toxin was coursing through her body.

"Now it's cold. Damn it."

Wesley tucked the blankets around her more securely. Her skin was now clammy and cooler to the touch. The look in her eyes told him that she was frightened of what was happening to her. This was something that she couldn't fight with her fists.

"I'll see if I can find some kind of Internet connection. Maybe research some things. If I leave for a few minutes, will you be fine?"

"Not going anywhere," she managed to get out, teeth chattering.

Grabbing his computer from inside the briefcase, he hurried out the door, pulling on his jacket along the way. In the office of the motel, he asked the clerk where he might plug his computer to access the Internet. The clerk did him one better and said that he could just use the office's computer, of course for a price. That would make what he was doing less traceable. Getting onto a few sites, he actually managed to track down a few facts about the creature that attacked Faith. He recognized the family of demon species it might belong to. But he was stumped on how its claws were toxic.

After working for another fifteen minutes, Wesley realized that he needed to get back to Faith posthaste. He didn't want to be gone for too long. Trying one more database at his disposal, it hit him as he looked at the creature on the screen. He knew of a method to cleanse Faith's body of the toxins. It wouldn't be pretty. And it would probably hurt like hell.

Chanting a little over the computer, he erased what he thought were all the traces and cookies, so it would be hard to find out that he had used this particular computer. It was all the energy he could spare at the moment, since his back was acting up on him again. Standing up gingerly, he gave the clerk a twenty for payment. What he didn't tell the clerk was he probably had erased all the website favorites on this computer, including all the porn sites the man had bookmarked. Nothing he could do about that now.

At the coffee shop next door, he ordered some soup and tea to go, since his stomach was just in knots and he'd need the strength for curing Faith. He hoped that Faith would have strength enough to eat a little soup before he tried the only method he knew of.

Going back into the motel room, Faith wasn't on the bed. He heard water running in the bathroom. She must have had enough strength to run a bath. Knocking on the door, he opened it just slightly to check on her.

"Faith?"

"Trying to warm up," she mumbled.

Going against his instincts of offending her modesty, he opened the door to see if she was all right. The room had steamed up considerably. Pulling back the torn shower curtain, Faith sat in the now full tub, arms crossed over her front, like she was still too cold. Reaching down, he turned off the flow of water before it went over the side.

"Not helping?"

"Not much. This just sucks."

"But it might help a little, cleaning out the wounds more."

"Find anything?" she asked, looking at him with those big, hopeful eyes of hers.

"Maybe. There's something that I would like to try."

He tried to keep the worry out of his voice, but by the change of expression on Faith's face, she knew it probably was bad.

"But you don't think it will work," she answered, putting her chin on her drawn up legs.

Kneeling at the side of the tub, he looked at her, wanting her to know that he would try his best to see that she got rid of whatever had invaded her body.

"No, I'm not sure whether it will work. I think it has a shot though. But that's not what concerns me."

"It'll hurt like a bitch, won't it?"

Just like she could read his mind. Why did they think so much alike? If they had met as watcher and slayer with the personalities they had now, they would have been so much more successful in their working relationship. But they weren't in that kind of working relationship anymore. Which was a good thing, since he weaved her shaking handinto his.

"Unfortunately, yes."

Faith smiled a little at his proclamation. "No pain, no gain."

"It's good that you're getting clean. What I have in mind calls for it."

"Tell me what I have to do. Cuz this is really getting annoying."

Faith still shivered in the quite hot water in the tub. He would like to give her a little more time in the bath. But the sooner he did what he had to do, the better.

"Have you thoroughly cleaned the claw marks?" he asked.

"No. I've just been sittin' here, tryin' to get warm."

The hot steam gave Faith's face a rosy glow, unlike the pasty one she had when he left to use the computer. When she got out, the pastiness would probably return. At least now, her blood was pumping a little more. It might make what he was going to do a little easier.

Wesley reached over to grab the sliver of soap the motel provided.

"Eww. Don't you dare. Look in my bag. That stuff is just shit. Not on my skin, you don't."

"Discriminating?"

"After prison? The only thing I splurge on. The soap I used there could strip off your lily white hide."

Stripping off his sweater, Wesley dug around in Faith's bag and found her toiletries. Rolling up his sleeves, he knelt back down by the tub. As he opened the bag, he rooted around until he found the soap she had asked for. That was why Faith smelled like she did.

"Hey, quit smelling my soap and get this over with."

He hadn't realized that he had held the bar up to smell. Faith just gave him a little smirk in return.

"Can you stand?"

"One, you can't hold on to me all slippery. Two, you drop me with that bad back and I'll crack my head open on the tub. Just let some of the water out, but not too much. It's helping the cold."

Faith still had her arms wrapped around her legs, shielding herself from his view. But she'd have to expose herself totally if he was going to help her. He knew she could sense his discomfort. In fact she grabbed his hand to tell him that she was going to be fine with it.

The shaking had started anew, so he plugged the tub back up again, not wanting her to get any colder.

"Leg first," he announced.

Faith straightened her leg out so he could reach the wound. Swallowing slightly, he touched it, soaping up his hands to clean it thoroughly. She winced a little at his hands touching it, closing her eyes as he performed the task twice to make sure it was clean.

"Stomach?" he now asked, knowing this would be a little more uncomfortable for her.

Faith unfolded her arms and slid her legs down to the bottom of the tub. She wasn't embarrassed by her state of undress. Her stomach was still too far under the water to be washed thoroughly.

"The leg's the worst one. I don't think I'm gonna be able to get out of the water enough so you can get to it."

Wesley couldn't get out of his mind how beautiful she was. He wanted to reach out and stroke every part of her, to feel every plane and angle, to see if she really was as soft as she looked. But he needed to stifle all thoughts about that right that instant if he was to help her out of her predicament.

"You'll have to stand," he implored her.

"Help me up," she asked him.

Taking her arm, he slowly helped her stand in the tub. Water went everywhere, especially all over the front of his shirt. He kept his gaze totally focused on her face, trying to show her that he was there to help, not ogle her body like some schoolboy. She managed to grin back at him. Her legs shook, so he grasped the soap and went to work. Her stomach felt hard and flat as she stood there, him making circles to clean the claw marks. It clenched even more, probably because of the pain she had to endure at his touch. Faith hung on for dear life until he finished cleaning it.

"Sit," he ordered.

Faith almost slipped, but he caught her in time. She sighed her pleasure as the warmth surrounded her again. By the time he was done helping with her bath, his shirt was soaked down the front he where he was holding her up, plus on the one side because of the soap that had run down his arm.

"Much better," she groaned. "And quit acting like a saint, Wes. One or two looks aren't gonna harm anyone."

Wesley swallowed hard and turned to gather a towel up to get her out and dried off.

"Ready?" he asked finally, after catching his breath.

He wasn't a saint like Faith just called him. He realized how tantalizing she was right then. But she was ill. And he would do his damnedest to help her get better. Then he would think about all the looks and touches that seemed to be happening between them.

"Since I practically had to crawl in here, you sure you can handle this? What if I fall?"

"I'll catch you."

This promise Wesley could keep, unlike when she fell into evil after all that happened in Sunnydale. He was much more prepared to catch her now. Setting the towel on the toilet, he reached his arm out again to take hers as she levered herself out of the tub.

"Injured leg can't take any weight," Faith ground out as he helped her over the rim.

Leaning her against his chest, Wesley reached down to grab the towel. At least her skin was now warm and red. He hurriedly wrapped her up in the small towel, not only to get her dry, but also to take away all the temptation that she presented by her nakedness. Before he could lead her back to the bed, her strength gave out. Catching her, he lifted her into his arms and carried her the rest of the way.

Faith had snaked a hand around his neck to hold on. He couldn't help but look down to make sure he wouldn't trip and fall over with her in his arms. But she had her eyes closed, concentrating on overcoming the pain in her body. Standing over the bed, his back twinged in revolt at her weight, although slight for a human, that he was carrying.

"Faith, you're going to have to slide down off of me the rest of the way. If I bend over to place you on the bed, I won't get up."

Faith opened her eyes to nod her acceptance of what she needed to do. Sliding down off of him, he almost groaned at her closeness, but figured that wouldn't be such a great idea.

"I can't stop shaking," Faith replied as she sunk down onto the bed.

She quickly pulled all the blankets over herself as Wesley gathered up the supplies that he needed. Going outside one last time, he brought in a bottle of clear liquid that had been sitting in the snow, keeping it cold.

"Faith, I want you to listen. The demon that attacked you, freezing holy water can hurt it. I'm going to try and extract some of the toxin by using it on your wounds."

"Now why would that hurt?" she chattered out.

"The toxin is part of the demon. Which means that part is now in you. It'll burn, just like it does a vampire or any other demon that can be hurt by it. It won't scar you or permanently harm you, if I do it correctly."

"Do it correctly?" Faith squeaked out.

"I have to use a particular spell. But I don't know if I have enough energy to perform it."

"Will it hurt you?"

"I'm not sure. I don't know what else to try, frankly."

As Faith nodded her head yes, he could see the tears escape from her eyes.

"Just get it the fuck over with."

Wesley uncovered her injured leg only. The ghostly cast to her skin was starting to return quickly. Slowly he started the chant that he had remembered from long ago. He just hoped his memory would serve him well this time. As gently as he could, he poured a few drops of the holy water on her wound. He wasn't expecting a sizzle, but got one. His spell was obviously working. A muffled scream escaped from Faith. The wound glowed a little from the heat that the spell had begun generating, which was why he had refrigerated the holy water.

"I'm going to have to do this several times to make sure all the toxin is out. Ready to go again?"

He knew he should just do it to save her even more agony. But he wanted her to know that if at any time she wanted to stop and breathe that she could. Another nod from her had him pouring on a little more. It practically hissed as it struck her skin. He could feel the spell drain his energy more quickly than he had expected. He would have to work faster if he were to succeed in curing her.

The next time he poured, he used a little more. Faith was clutching the bedsheets so hard, he thought that she might be dying.

"Don't die, Faith," he commanded of her.

"It just fucking hurts," she managed to answer him.

"One more time, love. Just hold on."

One more time chanting, one more flow of liquid. The wound didn't hiss as much and most of the secretions coming out were now clear and fluid, not sticky. He cleaned away the excess moisture, but left the healing wound open to the air.

"OK, on to the next one," he wanted her to know.

He came around to the other side of the bed and crawled on with her. His back protested some at bending over to do the climb, but he ignored it. He probably wouldn't be able to move in the morning, but it was worth the price to make Faith healthy again. Covering her leg with the blanket, he then looked down at her face. Her face held a tight grimace, like she was still fighting so much pain.

"Are you in much pain?" he asked.

"Yeah. It burns all over now. Not so bad as the first time you did that though."

"Good. Progress. Let's hope since these were not as deep, then it will not hurt as much."

"Just do it," she said to him, opening her eyes.

He just wished that he could take her hurt inside of himself and spare her the pain she was going through. Placing a quick kiss on her forehead, he moved the blankets down until she was uncovered to the waist. Her body had started to sweat after the first chanting session. He hoped that would help her heal even more.

"That's all I get?" she said shakily, trying to keep a brave face.

He moved down to her lips and placed a light kiss there also. Through the mask of pain, Faith smiled at him.

"Promise me somethin'?" she asked.

"Yes?"

"When we get through this, I want to see what's underneath that exterior shell you have."

"I don't understand," he replied, not knowing what she was referring to.

Their faces were mere inches from touching. He could feel her breath against his neck, making him shiver just a little. Her hand snaked around the back of his neck and pulled him down to kiss her again. Only this time it wasn't a light kiss. She acted like she wanted to devour him.

"Get it now?" she said against his lips.

"Maybe," he replied, still not exactly knowing, but guessing it had something to do with less clothes and more skin-to-skin contact.

Closing his eyes, he concentrated on his spell once again, not wanting her eyes to distract him from completing what he had started. Slowly he poured the liquid again, hearing it sizzle on contact. Faith almost wailed loudly, only to stop herself. His head was becoming dizzy from performing the spell so many times. He just needed one or two more tries, and he thought that should do it. Hands shaking, he performed it once more, this time watching the wound to see if it looked different. It still had some toxins present.

"One last time," he whispered.

Chanting, he poured again, this time much more than the last two times. Everything looked clear, just like the last wound. Faith had screamed a little after this last one, almost hurting him in the process with her powerful arms. He hadn't thought about how much damage she could potentially do if she wanted. But he had lucked out in the end that she had held herself still.

His limbs were shaking with exertion after the last one. Looking down at Faith, he noticed that the look on her face eased somewhat. The pain was receding. He groaned in relief, hoping that he took away all the toxins for good. He slowly lowered his body beside her, curling himself into a ball, and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Faith awoke with a start. It was dark in the room, but not close to dawn just yet. Her body felt like it had been put through the ringer a few times. The shakes had gone. Her body was quite toasty under the blankets. Wes must have somehow gotten rid of all the bad stuff in her wounds from the demon. Then she figured out why she was so warm. Wes had snuggled up against her back after whatever spell he had pulled out of that big brain of his exhausted him. His hand was possessively resting on her hip. She vaguely remembered the bathtub and moving back into the bed. The rest was just a blur.

Wesley moved in his sleep, moving his hand to her stomach. His head lay next to her shoulder blades, so every time he breathed in and out, it tickled a little. She heard him moan a little as she shifted around, trying to find a better position.

What she didn't expect was for him to be in the middle of a nightmare. He groaned again, tightening his hold on her. Turning over to face him, she shook his shoulder lightly to bring him out. He was mumbling something about not hurting someone and then he started to shake his head no as he said the very word over and over again.

"Wes, it's a dream. Wake up. Come on."

"I'm so sorry," he murmured in response, obviously not awake at all.

"God, he even apologizes in his sleep," she said to herself.

She never thought that he would be the touchy, feely kind of guy. But as he slept on, he literally wrapped himself around her, settling his head against her breasts. No one ever clung to her in her life. And here he was doing just that. It kind of made her uncomfortable for a second, but then he settled down. Stroking the back of his head, she lay in peaceful silence for some time. It felt good to actually comfort someone and not involve sex. Her thoughts strayed to that area, since he was the one that plastered himself all over her. So she'd blame him when he woke up the next morning.

She gathered up her courage and snuck her hand up his shirt in the back just to feel what his skin was like. Since her hands were always callused from fighting, his back felt smooth and oh so touchable underneath that shirt. She wondered what other parts of him were soft and others hard.

Working her hand around the front, she found crisp hair on his belly and chest. Her breathing sped up a little as she decided to use both hands to explore. How the man made her hot and horny and he wasn't even awake floored her. She found his neck exposed, so she tasted there a little.

"Faith," she heard him say finally.

"Oops. Busted," she said to him.

"You must feel somewhat better," he replied, hands tightening around her back.

"Yeah, you could say that."

"I don't know if I have the energy. That spell took a lot out of me," he mumbled.

"Shh. Then don't talk."

Man, he talked way too much. But she liked the sound of his voice most times, unless he was lecturing her. Then she mostly tuned him out. Faith placed light kisses along his jawline. He sighed as her hands roamed his chest and back. She almost came unhinged as she tried to unbutton his shirt, popping the last buttons.

Pushing Wes over onto his back, she leaned onto him, and then realized that his back must still hurt.

"Your back?" she inquired.

"It's fine," he whispered back.

Lying flat against him, she was now skin-to-skin with him. She vaguely remembered promising him something like this, and she aimed to deliver on that promise. Licking and biting, she managed to undress him more without his help. At that point she couldn't tell whether he had drifted off to sleep again because he wasn't moving. So she bit down on his chest lightly just to get a reaction.

"That bloody hurt," he got out finally.

"Just wanted to make sure you're awake for this."

"I do believe that I am."

She thought she heard a snort of laughter in there somewhere. Since she didn't need any more foreplay and he obviously didn't have the strength to lift so much as a finger, she took things into her own hands and slid home. He moaned a little, but still let her do whatever she so pleased. And she did whatever she wanted until she had him moaning more. He even moaned her name as he finished with his pleasure. Damn, she knew she should have waited until he could participate more actively, because there was no joy for her right then. His fingers responded to her groan of disappointment though seconds later, helping her release the last of the tension in her bones. Settling herself on top of Wes, she drifted off to sleep again as his arms came up to hold her.

TBC

Next: Morning after. Back on the road again for the two. And in the future, someone asks Faith to do something she doesn't want to do.

Author notes: OK, this chapter was really difficult to write because one, it was long, which is fine normally, but there is so much going on; two, I still had to make it R rated, which isn't really as easy as it sounds. And I really don't know how far to go before it goes over the top on the rating.

Thanks: Wow, lots of reviews! I didn't think I'd get so many since this isn't exactly mainstream stuff. Thanks a whole bunch, everyone. Thanks to Illyria639, shahid, AllenPitt, Wav, Tariq, pari106, tp96 and everyone else at this site. I really am going to do a more risqué version of this puppy.

Answers to questions:

Illyria639—thanks for the pimping. Did I really just type that? I guess I'm just old or something. Don't know the lingo.

Shahid—happy ending? Did I say that? I haven't decided yet (Yeah, I know, I like them too, but ….). Yeah, there will be some more Scoobie action later.

AllenPitt—I'm not telling. My timeline? I think everything works. Please don't tell me it doesn't work. I'll cry.

Wav—Hey, when I started this crazy stuff of fic writing, I was not a Wes/Faith writer. Now I can't seem to get enough of it. I know a few authors that are really good. I can e-mail if you like. Just sayin' that I'm not the best out there.

Tariq—longer chapters? That I can do.

Pari106—Sort of that When Harry Met Sally vibe, not that I believe it for one minute about guys and gals not being able to be friends.

Tp96—a little more stuff between them. Not done yet.


	8. Wyoming

Chapter Eight – Wyoming

March 2005

"You have to use it."

"Fuck you. Go away. Leave me alone."

Faith stood in that alley again, two days after her conversation with Darcy. Stay out of the alley, she remembered telling the woman. She had started taking out the garbage since then. Now she regretted making that decision.

"He'll find you, Faith."

"Let him."

"He'll kill you."

Faith didn't think that would happen. The person who stood before her wore tattered clothes. He obviously hadn't cleaned up in quite a while. And he was still a damn asshole in her book. She did owe him something. Just not what he asked. Not ever.

"I doubt it. Just leave."

"You don't understand," he yelled back.

"I understand completely, Angel. You bastard. You caused all of this."

"I did. I know what I did. You just have to trust me on this. You are the only one who can do it."

She wanted to pull out that stake that she had in her back pocket and run him through. But she knew she couldn't. Just as she knew she couldn't do what he asked.

"Go to hell."

"I've already been there. And I'll go back again just to get you to do this. It's the right thing to do."

The right thing to do would have been not to take the lawyers' offer in the first place. She wasn't going to throw that back in his face right then. She had more to protect than just herself. She had her whole life.

"You do it yourself."

"I can't. Won't work. Don't you understand?"

Tears formed behind her eyes. Faith didn't want him to see her cry. Her heart had already been ripped in two way too many times in the last year just for her to slowly sew it back together. Now he was going to rip at those stitches again.

"I understand," she told him menacingly. "Get out of here and never come back."

"He won't stop until he has killed each and every one of us."

"You created this. You solve this. I'm going inside."

Angel stopped her with a hand. Reaching inside his jacket pocket, he pulled out a dagger, not unlike the one that the Mayor had given her as a gift in Sunnydale.

"Take this. If you never use it, then fine. I don't think that's going to happen though."

"If you led him to me, so help me I'll slice off that head of yours with a grin on my face watching you turn to dust."

"He'll find you, Faith. He'll find you no matter what."

Faith knew that it would happen. Running back inside, she threw a suitcase on the bed, packing as quickly as she could.

* * *

November 2003 

Wesley awoke with a groan. His back was sore, so very sore. It cracked as he turned over from his prone position. His arm accidentally smacked into Faith as he did. She didn't wake up, but did shift slightly to turn away from him. The curve of her naked back faced him then. Swallowing he pulled the blanket away to see his state of dress.

He winced when he realized the only article of clothing he had on was his shirt, which was unbuttoned. And Faith had less on. He was the reason why. The spell had worked. Her skin held its rosy glow beside him. Curls cascaded down her back. And she still smelled like the soap he had used on her the night before. Stroking lightly down her back with a finger, he realized that she was as soft there as she was in other places.

"I am trying to sleep," Faith mumbled.

Wesley jerked his hand back away from her, scooting to the far side of the bed.

"Sorry. Just seeing if you were awake. How are you feeling, if I may ask?"

"Damn skippy," she told him, voice muffled from her pillow.

"Good, good," Wesley stuttered.

"Jerk," Faith answered.

"Now what did I do?"

Faith spun around to face him with a look that could take the hide off of most men. Wesley flinched just slightly, not wanting her to see his reaction. He hadn't flinched at her in a great while.

"Nothing," she grimaced.

"Okay. That's better than something, I suspect."

Then Faith flung the blankets back and sat up, revealing her body in all its glory.

"You," Faith started, head coming closer. "Are," she emphasized. "Stupid," she finished, almost nose-to-nose with him.

"That's it?" he said aloud, realizing that wasn't the best thing to say to a woman the morning after whatever it was they did.

Faith squenched up her face like he was the bitterest candy she had ever tasted and spit out. Standing up, she promptly fell to the floor with a crash.

"Faith," he yelled.

"I'm OK," she told him from the floor.

Slowly, she propped herself up against the bed. Scooting down to the end of the bed, he put a hand on her shoulder, to reassure her and to tell her that he was there if she needed him.

"You should take it easy. Your leg cannot be at full strength just yet."

"Not like I didn't just figure that out."

Faith crossed her arms over her chest in a defiant gesture. Wesley almost laughed because she looked quite ridiculous sitting there on the edge of the bed without a stitch of clothing on, trying to look like the badass she thought that she was. When all he wanted to do was pull her down and have his way with her, unlike what he had done the night before.

"I'm sorry about . . . ," he started to tell her.

Jerking away from his hand, she gingerly stood again and made her way into the bathroom with a slam of the door.

"That went well," he said to himself.

* * *

"Jerk, jerk," Faith mumbled to herself as she showered and dressed. 

The man really didn't understand what had happened the night before. He turned right back into Wesley the Watcher Wuss the next morning, like nothing had happened between the two of them. She had thought that he would know exactly what to do. Instead he had backed away from her as soon as she was awake. The gesture wasn't unexpected. Hell, she thought that it would have happened way before then. But she was just hoping that he would get a clue.

She took as much time as she wanted cleaning herself up, even using most of the hot water. If he wanted to be a jerk, then she'd give it to him right back. Flinging open the door, she limped out of the bathroom.

"All yours, your highness," she announced as she sat down on the bed.

He had put on some clothes after she left, she noticed. But the shirt was still open. Faith couldn't get over the fact that underneath all those proper clothes, the man actually did have some muscle. His clothes hid all that was underneath. She wished he would wear tight fitting tees all the time, like Spike did. The jeans he had on though did look quite nice on him.

"Thank you," he sneered her way.

She could hear him screech a little as he took a shower. Must be the cold water she left for him, she thought. But then she started to think that maybe he had hurt himself or something, so she made her way over to the now closed bathroom door. Slowly, she opened it up, trying to not make any noise so he wouldn't know she looked in on him. He was holding his back, but not hunched over, which was good. And he didn't have a stitch of clothing on. Luckily his back was turned so he didn't see her checking him out.

Retreating out of the doorway, she went back to sit on the bed. Faith ran her hand through her tangled, slightly damp hair, trying to get a hold of herself. The night before did nothing for her control. She was still ready and raring to go at it again. Yeah, it wasn't exactly the best time she'd ever had in bed, but it didn't suck. She still thought though that she wasn't seeing the real Wes. The Wes that could drive her wild in and out of bed. Maybe he just didn't find her all that attractive. Wouldn't that be a kicker?

Finally, Wes emerged from the bathroom. He yanked his shirt over his head, giving her a little show of chest before performing the task. He threw a smirk her way as he packed up his clothes and other things.

"You got a problem?" she finally asked him as she was pulling her boots on.

"Not at the moment. Never. I'm just fine," he said as he grabbed his jacket.

The calm, cool and collected Englishman was in a tizzy, she thought. And it was all her fault. Not that she wasn't proud of herself, because she was for causing the mood. It would be nice to see how far she could push him before he really pushed back. He'd only pushed back twice since she'd met him, both times giving her a glimpse of the real person underneath all that proper attire. Neither time had been all that pleasant. So why was she baiting him now?

Wesley picked up his bag and briefcase and headed out the door without a backward glance. She gave the room a last look, then gathered up her stuff to follow.

Getting breakfast was even a chore. Wesley literally shoved food into his mouth, all the while glaring her way. She just sneered right back at him. Something had to give soon, she thought, or they would both explode. She just wondered who would be first.

"I'll drive," Faith announced as they came out of the diner.

"Get in," he growled back, obviously taking on the caveman attitude.

"Your fucking back is hurting, you moron," she told him in a not-so-nice voice.

"Your fucking leg is also hurt. Get in."

Oh, she had never heard him curse like she did. She must have pushed his buttons. Climbing in the car, she slammed the door after settling herself. Wesley did the same. Tuning the radio, Faith sat silently while Wesley drove the car toward the interstate. A flashing sign up ahead, before they got on the freeway, indicated a major accident.

"Damn it," Wesley ground out as he slammed his hand down onto the steering wheel.

Pulling over, he got out the map to plot another route. Faith sat and literally twiddled her thumbs, not wanting to comment on anything that he attempted to do. He turned the car around and went back through the small town. Taking a different route, she noticed his shoulders finally relax a little.

"Will this take us very far out of the way?" she asked a little timidly.

"Why do you care?"

"Oh, get off it, will you? Just because you wouldn't know your way around a woman's body and know what to do the morning after, doesn't mean you take it out on the world."

"What?" he screamed at her.

"You heard me. You couldn't even touch me this morning. Couldn't wait to get the hell out of my sight."

Faith watched as his mouth opened and closed several times, like he was thinking of a good retort to her confession.

"That's what this is all about? Some perceived slight by me? You could have asked me what was wrong, but you just assumed the worst."

"Mr. I Can't Lift A Finger to touch someone."

"One, I lifted more than one, thank you very much and two, I saved your life with said fingers, which happen to be attached to the body that you used to your advantage last night, if I remember correctly."

"Thanks for saving my life. Now can we get on with what you supposedly did."

"That's all the thanks I get?"

"Oh, I'll remember to send you a fruit basket when I get back home if that's OK with you."

Wesley's hands gripped the steering wheel to the point where Faith thought that he was going to rip the thing right off. Maybe when he was driving wasn't the best time to discuss matters that pissed him off.

"I'll have you know that spell that I performed could have killed me, but that isn't something that you would like to know."

He could have died? Now why on earth hadn't he told her that part? Now she did feel guilty. She just wouldn't tell him that fact. That didn't mean that she had to be nice to him though.

"Left out that little fact."

"Indeed I did."

"Why?" she put the question to him.

"Did it matter?"

"I asked you a question. Why?"

"Why not? Because it had to be done."

Faith laughed a little at that. Wesley always did what had to be done, whether he would suffer or not. Even Angel sometimes balked at what had to be done, letting his feelings drive him more often than not. Wesley's logical mind sometimes really ticked her off.

"Even though it could have killed you."

"Yes," he answered her back.

"As I said before, stupid."

"Not stupid. You are worth helping."

"Not worth dying for."

"It was an acceptable choice."

Arguing with the man was getting her nowhere. It made her head spin, and not in a good way.

"You changed the subject."

"What subject is that?"

"The part about not wanting to touch me? Remember. Stay on topic and stop being all avoidy."

Trees flew by as Wesley floored the accelerator. She wanted to tell him not to drive so fast, but it felt good just moving. The winter really was a bummer since she'd love to have the window down to feel the wind in her face. Now all she would probably get would be a blast of cold air and some dirty snow.

"I am not avoiding anything. I'm just trying to figure out what the hell I did."

"Didn't do."

"I stand corrected. Didn't do. Faith, I barely remember last night, much less waking up this morning."

"Stop the car," Faith managed to get out.

"I will not."

"Stop the damn car, you jerk, before you kill us driving so fast."

Wesley slammed on the brakes, pulling off to the side of the road. He drove around an old building so no one could see their argument from the road. Faith was glad he was being cautious, because she wanted to let him have it with both barrels.

"Now, tell me exactly what I did wrong and I'll try and rectify it."

Faith couldn't believe he didn't know what he did wrong. Men were such pigs. But he honestly looked like he wanted to know what he did wrong in her eyes.

Looking down at the floor, she started listing what went wrong in her mind. It didn't seem all that bad the more she thought about it. But she didn't want him to know that.

"You fell asleep."

"As I do on most nights."

"During, you know."

"I was not asleep, I assure you."

"Not enticing enough for you, huh?"

"That's definitely not a problem."

Faith's eyes widened. He thought that she was enticing? Why hadn't he said that to her? She frowned his way, feelings hurt again, only this time she didn't answer back.

"Enticing, alluring, sexy, beautiful. You name it."

Her eyebrow arched just slightly at his description of her. Was he just trying to get back in her good graces or did he really mean what he said? Unbuckling his seatbelt, he pushed up the armrests in between the seats. She didn't turn towards him, hoping and thinking that he wasn't moving closer to her. Not until she felt his tongue on her neck did she let out the breath she had been holding.

"And very tasty," he finished after raising his head slightly away from her neck.

Her insides melted. Why did he have such a sexy voice and the words to go with it?

"So Faith, what did I do wrong?"

"Um, you um, you weren't very attentive and I just thought that maybe you would be this morning and you were all into moving away from me, so I thought that you regretted last night."

There, she poured it all out. What her feelings were on the whole matter. Well, not all her feelings, just directly about the incident. She really couldn't figure out what in the world she felt about the man sitting beside her. They didn't get along that well. As a matter of fact, they sometimes hated each other. And if he didn't kiss her in the next second, she'd expire from waiting.

"Extremely poor reaction on my part. How about I make up for it?"

Nibbling up her jawline, Faith turned her head as he kissed her cheek.

"Damn it, just kiss me," she told him.

And he did just that. This was what she missed last night. Mostly that was her fault, since he really hadn't been in any condition for much else than a quick romp. But this morning, she had hoped for more. Now, she got more.

His hand came up to move through her unruly hair as the other one moved under her jacket. When the hand hit home, she arched a little towards him, wanting him to squeeze harder. He complied as he deepened the kiss he was handily giving her. She was no longer the get some, get gone type of gal. She wanted it to last a little while longer. Maybe she was just getting old, or maybe a little more discriminating.

Wesley slowly tugged off her jacket, exposing her to the cooling air in the car. She didn't care since her blood was at the boiling point. Working his hands up her shirt, he molded and squeezed until she almost saw stars. Damn, why couldn't he have gotten a larger car? His hand moved down to the snap on her jeans. Tugging, he managed to get that part open. He'd have to have help to get them the rest of the way off.

"Take them off," he commanded of her.

Reaching over he lowered her seat as much as it would go, while she complied with his order. She was thinking that he would join her shortly. Her body burned like fire. But he didn't exactly join her the way she thought he would. His head descended as she got the jeans down around her ankles and he didn't come back up until she screamed her release.

He grinned a lop-sided smile, then scooted back over into his seat and started the car. She didn't move for a moment, wondering what he was doing. It shocked her that he wasn't doing anything else. Not that she wasn't willing, although she did just sit there half-naked as he pulled back onto the road.

"Fasten your seatbelt, dear."

She could see the twinkle in his eyes, the deep blue dancing as he looked forward. Before she buckled it, she righted her clothes. Her mind couldn't figure out what to say to him.

"We um, you um, why'd you do that?"

He just smiled her way, a telling look on his face. He definitely enjoyed seeing her squirm. It was a delightful, mind-blowing squirm at that. She'd have to pay him back at some point, hopefully sooner rather than later. He had laid down the challenge. She just hoped that she could meet that challenge, since it seemed that he was good at it after all. All that talking he did paid off in spades.

They stopped for lunch, neither talking very much, but his look was unmistakable. As soon as they stopped for the night, she would have to top what he had just done. Or at least, that's what she thought. She had taken to touching him constantly. Just little rubs and squeezes as he drove. As the sun started setting, Wesley found a motel alongside road very near the interstate. Her body was literally humming by the time they got to their room. If he didn't hurry it along, she'd jump him.

As he opened the door, the light from the parking lot spilled in, revealing at least three demons of all shapes and sizes. She groaned out loud as she pushed Wesley out of the way. The bullets whizzed by as they both landed in a heap at the bottom of stairs. Luckily they hadn't brought their bags up yet. Yanking him up off the ground, she shoved him towards the car. Wesley pulled his weapon as he dove for the driver's side and started the car.

"Damn it, damn it, damn it. Fuck, fuck, fuck," she chanted over and over. "How did they know?"

"They're tracking us. We'll have to abandon it all somewhere. How much cash do you have?"

"Maybe two hundred."

"I still have four. Not enough to buy another vehicle." Faith laughed out loud as she thought of an idea. "Grand theft would not look good on your record."

"Then you do it."

"Just what I was about to suggest."

"Don't get caught with me in the car. Being an accessory isn't good either."

"You're corrupting me," Wesley quipped back.

"Sorry. I think you were already there way before I came along. I just loosened you up a little more."

They opted for buying something after all, since Wesley saw an old truck at the side of the road for sale. It took four hundred of their dollars. Sorting through all of their stuff, he determined that the weapons were safe, but not much else. They would have to abandon all of it somewhere, then send for it when they were safe again.

"We need to go shopping," Wesley informed Faith.

"Oh, goody. Just what I like," she answered sarcastically.

"Not into clothes buying?"

"Not at all."

Wesley pulled up in front of a Walmart of all places, which actually made Faith flinch a little.

Before she could even protest, Wesley chimed in. "One, it's cheap, two, it's close and three, there's an ATM inside to get more money. They already know we're in the area. We'll get the max and then head out of town."

* * *

Wesley grabbed a cart as they entered. He hadn't been shopping with a woman in quite some time. The last person he took shopping was Cordelia. And he was just there to be a packhorse for her purchases. Faith saw some long-sleeve shirts near the entrance and piled a couple in the basket, all black of course. She picked up a couple pair of jeans. 

"Need to try these on," she told him as she headed to the fitting rooms.

As she walked in front of him, her hips swayed back and forth to her own beat. Was she exaggerating the movement or was that her natural walk? He really liked how she moved. Her body was so fluid, and even when she walked, it amazed him. When she reached her destination, she crooked her finger for Wesley to follow. Shaking his head no, she came up next to him.

"Not willing to take the risk?"

"No. Not here. Too many people," he answered her.

She was still playing with him, to see how far she could push him until he snapped. Well, he had almost snapped in the car before. Luckily she had changed the subject and his mind wandered to what he would do to pleasure her, not strangle her. And now she thought she had the upper hand.

"Gotta be soon?"

"Don't worry about that."

He pushed her into the fitting room as he kept a look out for trouble. He found some purchases right away, not having to be as choosy as Faith. She pointed to the lingerie section with a smirk on her face. Picking up a bra, she grinned at him.

"I need some help here," she told him.

Help with picking out undergarments? She really did like baiting him.

"Which one do you like?" she asked as she held out two for his approval.

"Neither," he answered truthfully.

"Gotta pick something."

"I'd rather see you in nothing at all, to tell you the truth."

That statement did shock her. She stood there a few moments, trying to come up with an answer. She ended up putting the sheerest ones into the basket without further comment. Socks, underwear and a pair of pajamas joined the rest of the purchases.

"Do I have to leave my boots?"

"Yes, unfortunately."

Faith picked out some new boots and a pair of tennis shoes too. He did the same. Soon their cart was quite full of clothes. She added some snacks on top to tide her over. And lastly, she snuck in some cosmetics, shampoo and other toiletries, including some for him, for which he was grateful. Paying for their purchases, they made it out to the car after using the ATM. No trouble presented itself to them. Wesley breathed a little easier. Taking the car back to the old pickup, they exchanged everything, even suitcases. He locked up the car tight, even placing his computer and cell phone in the lock box in the trunk. Before closing, he phoned Wolfram and Hart to pick everything up. Let them deal with any demons that might figure out where the stuff was.

Faith quickly stripped right in front of him, depositing the last of her clothes in the back.

"It's really cold out here," she moaned as she pulled on the new purchases.

Silently, he did the same, watching her eyes widen as he did it right in front of her.

"There's no shame at all, is there?" she asked.

"Hasn't been for quite some time."

Faith just shook her head in amazement, and then climbed in to the passenger side of the truck.

"Where to now, Watcherman?"

"Let's just get the hell out of here in one piece."

"Sounds like a plan."

TBC

Next: Faith makes her getaway after that conversation with Angel. And back to the past, Faith and Wes drive thru snow and discuss what they will do next. Wes also has a confession to make.

Author notes: Did I reveal too much? You have any guesses? Probably yes on both counts. I really am not making Angel out to be the bad guy, or stupid guy as the case may be. Just roll with it for a while. You'll see. And were the love scenes too graphic? Still trying to be R rated. I'm posting elsewhere. I'll e-mail you with the site, etc. if you want the NC-17 version.

Thanks to Wav, Mandie, pari106 and everyone else. This fic is flowing so much easier than the last one. Thanks for all the input. It's been really helpful.

Answers to questions:

Wav—I kind of sound like Sally Field in her speech, "You like me, you really like me." Or is that the Budweiser guy when he says "I love you, man," when he wants a beer. Oh, never mind. I'm rambling. I really do appreciate the compliment. And yeah, if you're anything like me, you've read a lot of stuff, good and bad. I've learned a lot from it, what to do and what not to do. It's just so much fun.

Mandie—I can't wait to find out too. Oh, alright. I already know. It may be good or it may be not so good.

Pari106—Thanks for the compliment. Fleshing out a scene is really hard to do. I'm glad that I'm accomplishing that.


	9. Don't Think About Tomorrow

Note: The site has been down for so long. I am so glad it's up again. I was going into withdrawal. So, here it is. Enjoy!

Chapter Nine – Don't Think About Tomorrow

March 2005

"Oh, come on. Not now," she grumbled to herself.

Not that she could avoid this. It was something that she had enjoyed doing each and every day for over seven months. She had interrupted packing for this. She would need to do this anyway before she got on the road. Looking around, Faith contemplated her life. This room held a lot of memories, most of them good. There were few places in her life that held good memories. There were few people that had given her good memories.

She sighed as she sat rocking back and forth. Angel had been serious when he said that she had a job to do and no one else could do it. What she didn't understand was why it had to be her? Didn't everyone realize that she was retired? No more slaying for the ex-con from Boston.

But this wouldn't be like any other time. This time it would hurt like no other. So she'd run and avoid it. Caring about Angel and the others had cost her so much. But they'd given her so much in return. Wes had given her so much in return. And she would never forget that.

What she wouldn't do right then to have him tell her what to do this one time. It would be a pleasure to actually listen to him for once. But he couldn't tell her what to do because he was dead. She knew that; Angel had confirmed it for her. So why was that making her task that much harder?

Finishing with her other, more fulfilling job, she finished packing and carted the stuff down the stairs, throwing it in the old, beat up car she had saved for over the last several months. It wasn't much to look at, but it ran well. Darcy had seen to that herself.

Should she tell Darcy that she was leaving? It would break the old woman's heart. But she didn't want anyone hurting Darcy on her account. Running back up the stairs, she retrieved the last of her possessions that she could take on short notice. Hauling her last bundle down, she whispered goodbye as she placed everything else on the backseat.

Tears streamed down her face as she drove out of town. Faith didn't exactly know where she was going, only far away from her new life. The snow had been cleared from the road, thank goodness, making the driving a little easier. Her headlights shown brightly in the distance, few cars passing her on this back, out of the way road. That's why she had chosen it for her getaway. No one would travel this road unless they were local.

All of a sudden, a man appeared out of nowhere, making her skid to a halt just inches from colliding with him. Taking short breaths, she started to drive away, hoping that whoever he was, he wasn't hurt. A tapping at her window startled her. Looking over her shoulder, her breath came out of her with a whoosh as she recognized who it was. Her hands fell away from the steering wheel, clutching on the dagger that sat on the seat beside her.

* * *

November 2003

"You tired?" Faith asked as they sped down the highway.

The clunker of a truck ran well, even though it was ghastly to look at from the outside. And the gas mileage really wasn't great, but with the last withdrawal from his account, they were sure to have enough money to pay for it along with any food and lodging they needed before they arrived in Los Angeles.

He hadn't stopped after the last problem at the last motel. Wesley wanted to get as much distance between them and the demons that seemed to be hunting them. He and Faith had traded driving responsibilities once already. She just had awoken from a nap, stretching her body taut to get the blood flowing. Just like what he needed to do before his leg fell asleep.

"A little."

He had to be honest with her. She was in this up to her neck, just like he was.

"I'll take over, if you want," she softly told him.

The sound of her voice made his blood pump a little faster. Why was she having that effect on him now? Maybe because she had always had that effect on him, and now he was admitting to it. Even in Sunnydale, she had that effect on him, which was why he tried to woo Cordelia instead. He thought that she would make him forget about Faith. Then Faith went rogue, ending that association. And the torture surely didn't help matters. It ruined his lust for her quickly. But seeing her trying to redeem herself put the idea back in his mind that she was more than special.

Faith worked her hand over to his on the seat, rubbing her thumb over his knuckles gently. Her hands could make a master vampire groan in pain. Why did it cause his insides to turn to jelly? Maybe because strong women made him feel that way. Cordelia, Buffy, even Fred had that effect on him. They were much stronger, braver than he would ever be. Faith was in good company.

"Awfully quiet over there."

"I'm contemplating strategy."

"Another phrase for I don't know what the fuck to do."

"Exactly."

Faith laughed a little, still making circles on his hand. They hadn't gotten to go any further than the incident earlier in the car, which was making him antsy and horny beyond belief. He realized that Faith knew that too, which was why she was trying to drive him insane with her touching.

"Pull over, babe. You need to rest too."

"Oh, alright," he agreed.

Driving over to a dark spot along the roadside, he unbuckled his seatbelt.

"Just slide and I'll crawl over you. Too freakin' cold out there to get out."

That meant that Faith would brush up against him, revealing to her how much he wanted her. That was probably why she wanted to do it in the first place. As he inched over the large seat, Faith stood and scooted over. Only she didn't make it to the steering wheel. She turned around and straddled his lap, definitely finding out how much he wanted her.

"And it's nice and warm in here," she purred to him as she bit down on his earlobe.

"Maybe this isn't such a great idea," he told her, hoping that she would sway him to her way of thinking.

"No demons around. Just you and me."

Yes, he thought, just Faith and he and all the mistakes and issues surrounding both of them. He couldn't ignore all that had happened between them. Faith went on physical, while he thought about things. Maybe he thought about things way too much and should adopt Faith's attitude. If he wanted, he should very well just take it, just as long as no one got hurt.

As she dove in for a kiss, he tried to stop thinking about the past. Thinking about what he had done roared through his mind the last couple of hours. He couldn't escape it. It just kept festering until he knew he would burst without telling her.

"Faith?" he whispered as she started unbuttoning his shirt.

"Yeah, hon."

"I need, could we, oh damn."

Faith stopped what she was doing to look at him straight in the eyes.

"Do you not want to?" she almost cried out to him.

He could see the tears forming in her eyes. Hurting her wasn't what he wanted to do.

"I do. Very much so."

"Just not with me," she said, disappointed.

"With you, many, many times."

"Then what?"

Would she understand all the feelings that wanted to burst forth and overwhelm him? She had hurt people who had tried to love and accept her, scared of people actually getting close to her. He had killed the one person who he had hated for his whole life, the one person that he had tried to earn acceptance from to have it thrown back in his face.

"I killed my father."

Faith's eyes went wide. "What?"

"I, wait, let me start again. I thought I killed my father."

"You either killed him or you didn't." Faith backed up from him a little.

"I did. I mean, it wasn't him. It was some cyborg replica of him. I thought it was he. I truly wanted it to be him."

"Oh, God, Wes. I'm so sorry."

She was sorry for him? Didn't she realize how what he did was so wrong? How much he wanted the man to die for treating him so cruelly when he was a child?

"What happened?"

"He came to visit. Belittled me, made me feel just like I did when I was a child. So when he threatened people, I shot him. Only it was a cyborg." He left the Fred part out on purpose.

"So you didn't know it was a cyborg?"

"No. Not until after I shot him."

Faith placed her forehead against his. "He hurt you. Made you feel like you didn't matter. Probably ignored you. Make you do things that you couldn't do, just so you would fail, just to hit you. Made you go hungry just to punish you."

The look in Faith's eyes frightened him, because he knew that she just wasn't talking about his childhood. He knew that she came from a broken home, that her father was absent from her life. But the files that he read about her were obviously not complete. Or he just hadn't read them close enough.

"Yes, he did."

"He deserved it," she told him vehemently.

"He is still my father."

"I know. But sometimes you just wish for it to happen, even though it isn't right. Right?"

Faith was asking him whether killing a parent who was abusive was right or not? Had she done something dreadful in her past too?

"Faith, did something happen?"

"If you're asking, no, my mother took care of that herself with the alcohol and drugs. I just watched as she wasted away. I never knew my father. Probably a good thing, since my mother's taste in men wasn't exactly great."

Good, he thought. She hadn't had to make that choice, the one that he had to save Fred's life.

"When did she die?"

"About a year before my first watcher found me. I was on the streets after it happened. Luckily I could defend myself."

His heart broke. She had been homeless after her mother died. The files on her were woefully inadequate. And her story made him feel like the incident with his father wasn't as important as it once was.

"I never knew."

"Don't worry about it. It happened. It's in the past. Just like what happened with your father is in the past. When did you shoot that cyborg?"

"A little over a week ago."

"Damn. Why didn't you tell me?"

"Never the right time, I guess."

"So you figured that now was as good a time as any?"

Not exactly a good time when a willing woman was straddling his lap. But she had broken through his defenses, so now was as good a time as any.

"Guilt, pure and simple."

"No guilt," she said as she lightly kissed his lips.

"How can I not feel any guilt?"

"Because it's over with. And you survived. And you're here now with me."

Which probably wasn't the best of choices. He knew he should have stayed in Los Angeles to deal with the problem. But he ran instead.

"There's no fathers, no friends, no badness, no Angel, no Buffy, not anyone but us. Right here, right now."

Faith gently placed another kiss on his lips, drawing a sigh from him. He relaxed into the seat, letting her rub her fingers through his hair. It eased the heartache that he felt for all that he had done. No, he couldn't change what he did. But he could change how he now felt. The guilt would go away with time. Right now, he just wanted to feel.

Reaching up, he pulled her head down to place a searing kiss on her lips. Faith moaned in pleasure as he thrust his tongue inside of her mouth. Without breaking the kiss, Faith shimmied out of her pants, returning to his lap. He groaned as she bit into his neck lightly. Grabbing her hips, he pulled her hard against him, wanting to feel her softness, to lose himself in it.

Faith panted as he moved his hands over her body. Unhooking her bra, he shoved her top up and dove in to place more kisses and bites everywhere. She was busy herself touching him in as many places as she could reach. When they came together, he let her set the pace. He would have thought that she would have wanted to end their coupling quickly. But she took her time driving him crazy. As he screamed her name in release, she smiled, and then did the same. Taking him in her arms, she buried her head against his, not wanting for him to see the tears that she shed for him and herself.

"I didn't mean to make you cry," he whispered into her hair.

"Not crying. Just resting is all."

His wet shoulder and neck didn't believe that. Faith always wanted to be tough and in charge. Now all she could be was a woman who had been hurt, badly. He just hoped that he didn't compound that hurt she felt.

"We should get moving," he finally said as he stroked a finger down her back.

"Yeah," she replied, not looking at him in the darkened interior.

He almost groaned when he realized that he'd forgotten an important thing in their coupling. He had promised himself long ago to never bring children into his world. And he just forgot his number one rule when with a woman. Faith didn't seem bothered by the fact that they hadn't used protection. She was slowly sliding up her pants, trying to avoid his glances of worry.

"Faith, I . . . ," he started.

"Save it. I'm tired, Wes," she said with finality.

* * *

Faith couldn't believe that he was regretting everything that they had just shared. She could tell by the tone of his voice that he was going to tell her that he had made a huge mistake by having sex with her in the truck. So she stopped him with a terse comment. Better to head him off at the pass then deal with the repercussions later.

So they drove in silence until the sun started peaking over the horizon behind them. The air outside was downright frigid, as was the air inside the truck. Neither talked or even gestured toward the other. And Faith thought it was for the best. If they broke off whatever they were doing now, then the heartachewould be easier to handle.

"We should eat," Wesley finally spoke up.

"Yeah," Faith answered, not wanting to say more.

Faith could practically hear Wesley grinding his teeth over across the way. She really didn't have the strength to verbally spar with him without food and coffee in her stomach.

Rolling to a stop, Wesley exited the truck before she could. Slowly, she gathered herself up and out of the truck only to come face-to-face with him as she planted her feet on the ground.

"Something wrong?" she asked.

Wesley moved to within inches of her. He tipped her chin up to meet his stormy eyes.

"Don't shut me out."

Faith swallowed hard, not wanting him to see the emotions playing across her face. She wasn't good at hiding the fact that she hurt. Learning to talk and to listen to others was hard for her to do. Could she at least try with him, the person she had found that to be the hardest to deal with back in Sunnydale?

Taking a deep breath, she decided to tell him the truth, or what she thought was the truth. "It's hard to not shut you out. I'm tryin' here."

Wesley placed a small kiss on her forehead. That gesture almost had her crying in his arms. Even with the comfort and friendship that the Scoobies had given her over the last couple of months, she still had a hard time accepting that people wanted to be close to her. A hug from Buffy would send her scurrying for cover. Making love to this man had her diving off the deep end for sure.

"I know. Tell you what? We'll just think about today. Not tomorrow, nor the next. One day at a time. No one else."

That sounded good to her. Their little trip would be their little secret. No one had to know what they were doing or saying. It made her feel a little more secure.

"OK, but I get pancakes."

Wesley laughed out loud at her pronouncement. She truly felt that he should laugh more. The man certainly needed it after the hellish time he had so far with her.

"As many as you want. I just might join you."

"Don't strain yourself, watcher. You might get fat."

"Never will happen. Not even with those breakfasts I used to eat when I was a child. The calories would send Americans running for cover."

"You've been living in California too long."

"True," he answered.

Hand in hand, they walked into the diner, sitting side by side. Their elbows kept hitting as they were eating since they were sitting so close together. But it felt great to have someone who actually cared about her sitting beside her.

After finishing their meal, they headed back outside to climb into the truck. Just outside were a pack of kids roaming around, throwing snowballs this way and that. Wesley and Faith almost got caught in the crossfire as the kids attacked each other as they ran down the street to the park across the way.

Wesley slowly bent down and picked up a big ball of snow and proceeded to methodically make it into a ball. As he turned to her, a grin spread across his face.

"Oh, no you don't," she told him as she slowly moved away from him.

Cocking his elbow back, he let the snowball fly to hit her directly in the chest.

"Bullseye," he called out.

"That better not be where you were aiming."

"I always hit my target, Faith. You know that."

"Prepare to get wet," she told him as she scooped up a handful and ran towards him.

Racing across the street, the two joined in the fight of boys versus the girls with the kids. Faith ran, laughing and screaming as Wesley approached her and tried to put snow down her back. The kids quickly changed the game along with them and got just as wet as the two adults. The kids then left as quickly as they came, with a rush. Faith fell to the soft ground, kicking her legs and arms out to make a snow angel. Wesley looked down at her with a look of confusion.

"Snow angel. Try it."

Wesley fell down beside her, careful not to mess up her creation. He slowly did the same as he saw her do.

"It doesn't have to be perfect, you goof."

As fast as a cat, Wesley pounced on her, rolling her around in the snow. Now all of her was wet and cold, but she wasn't feeling none of that because he had attached his mouth to hers, kissing her to within an inch of her life. She took advantage and plunged her hand down his back with a handful of snow. Screeching, he rolled off of her and stood, laughing as he did. He put his hand down to help her up, pulling her into his arms as he did.

"You're cold," he announced as he felt her shiver in his arms.

"Warm me up?" she challenged.

"People are watching."

"So. Let them."

Wesley touched his cold lips to hers, moaning a little as they both warmed up.

"We should go," he said as he released her mouth from his.

They walked back to the truck arm in arm.

"I will get you back for that," Faith told him as they both climbed into the truck.

"Back for what?"

"The snow."

"Ah. We'll see about that," he said as he flicked a little snow her way.

TBC

Next: Find out who is chasing them. And they're heading to Vegas, baby (joke, OK). Who was Angel referring to? You'll find out in the next chapter.

Author notes: I am in withdrawal. The site not being up for that long really made this harder. I was on a roll. That's why this chapter is so short. And it was a logical break in the action sequence. I hope I didn't make Angel too unsympathetic. He really wants to do the right thing. Everyone wanted to read the NC-17 version of this. It should be posted now on the site that I referred to in my e-mail. If you didn't get that e-mail, it was probably because I didn't have an address. Just drop me a line and I can give you the specifics. And Steph, I lost yours. Please e-mail it to me again. Just so you know, my NC-17 version is not a PWP (porn without plot) chapter. Although these kinds of stories do have their place, that's not what this fic is about. I'm trying to write it like you would read in most romance novels, or women's fiction. Not easy to do. Not too graphic, but enough.

Thanks to: shahid, tp96, Wav, pari106, Illyria639, lovesbitca, Mandie, and everyone else.

Answers to questions:

Shahid—it's more graphic, just not too over the top.

Tp96—it's up through chapter eight on the other site.

Wav—I guess I wasn't descriptive enough or do you think that what happened didn't fit? Just wondering if you think I need to make it clearer.

Pari106—Yes, on Angel. I think Wes is hot, even when he was dork Wes. Is that weird or what?

Illyria639—thanks for the comments.

Lovesbitca—yep, tension between the two does create some great moments. Makes the writing more fun too. Thanks for coming over to read it!

Mandie—as always, thanks!


	10. Utah

Chapter Ten – Utah

March 2005

This was so not happening. Faith gasped as she locked eyes with the familiar face. Before she could pull away, a hand came smashing through her window, making glass fly all over the front of the car, including her face. Her arm hadn't been fast enough to shield from the flying glass. Her face stung from the shards.

"Get out," he growled at her as he shoved his arm through to grab a hold of her throat.

He was cutting off her air supply quickly. So she unlocked the door and complied with his request. He flung her to the ground, away from the car. Picking her up by her throat again, this time he did cut off that air supply, the world around her turning quickly to black. She needed to think quickly. Maybe if she reasoned with him, hoping that his past affection for her might have some sway, maybe he would let her go.

"Where is he?" he asked as he released her to fall to the ground.

"I don't know," Faith choked out, coughing from being released from the hold.

"You're lying."

Looking down at his legs, she contemplated if she could really take him down and drive off without him interfering. By the strength he put into that hold, she doubted that she would get very far. And she couldn't leave the car to run for it.

"I'm not," she told him, feeling the dagger underneath her coat, where she had put it before he dragged her out of the car.

"He must be eliminated."

"You bastard," she said as she pushed her legs his way, taking him down hard.

Getting up quickly, she tried to get back in the car. But she didn't make it as he slammed into her back, shoving her to the hard asphalt. The ground dug into her palms as she scrambled to get away from him. Flipping her over, he pinned her arms above her head, effectively stopping her from doing anything else.

"Don't play games with me, Faith."

"Let me go," she ground out, giving him a sneer to rival all sneers.

"He was here. That I know. Are you hiding him?"

"Does it look like I'm hiding him? Go to hell."

"I'm there already. Would you like to join me?"

From what Angel had told her, this being was not whom she thought it was. He was ruthless, strong, virtually unstoppable. Damn vampire was right about that magic dagger. She'd have an opportunity to use it.

"I didn't have anything to do with this."

"You're right. You didn't."

He released her arms, but still pinned her with his body. The black eyes that looked down at her just stared, like he was remembering what they had shared. Maybe there was something of him in there yet.

"Why are you doing this?"

"I have to. I must," he said haltingly.

"They're making you do this. Wolfram and Hart. Don't you see that?"

Maybe the reasoning will work after all, she thought.

A noise came from the car, causing Faith's eyes to widen. Oh no, not now, she thought. She'd have to distract him even further.

"Who is in the car with you?"

"Nobody. Let's just talk about this. Maybe I can help you find Angel."

"You would never do that. We both know that."

"You don't know me anymore."

"Indeed I don't."

Grabbing her by the hair, he pulled her up from the ground. How his strength could be greater than hers shocked her. He marched her to the car, slamming her up against the hood forcefully.

"Tell me what you know."

"Nothing, you asshole."

"I'm not sure why I thought that you were beautiful. You're just like all the rest of them."

He gripped her jaw, making her head stay still in his hand. Another sound from the car made him look again. As he released her to walk over to the car, she struck his jaw with her fist. He just laughed and struck back, not reacting at all in pain.

"Stop. No. Don't you touch her," she yelled.

Faith tackled him before he got the back door of the car open. Taking her fists, she pummeled him as he lay underneath her. Blood wasspilled in several places where her fists had connected. With one well-placed arm, he thrust her off of him to scramble to his feet. He just smiled through the blood as he wiped it off on his sleeve.

"Faith, whatever it is you're hiding in that car, so help me if you don't tell me what it is, I will kill it. Do you understand me?"

Faith knew he was serious. Because the man standing before her wasn't the man that she had trusted. He was gone, replaced by this ruthless killer. But she had no choice if she wanted to live through the night. Climbing into the car, she pulled her bundle out, holding her tight against her breast.

"Faith?" he swallowed.

"Please don't hurt her. She's all I have. Please don't hurt her."

Even being dead, Wesley could do the calculations in his head. She could see the recognition in his eyes of what had happened. As he approached her slowly, the baby in her arms squirmed a little in her tight embrace. She turned her head and opened her bright blue eyes Wesley's way, making him stop in his tracks.

"She's . . . ," Wesley started before falling to one knee, not coming any closer.

"I'm so sorry, Wes," Faith whispered as she touched the dagger in her pocket.

* * *

November 2003 

"So, it's Salt Lake, then Vegas here we come."

Faith was indeed excited at the prospect of going to Las Vegas. Wesley just wanted to get to Los Angeles in one piece. It had been relatively quiet all day long, especially after their impromptu snowball fight. Their clothes had dried in the truck with the heat turned up full blast. Now all he wanted was a hot shower and a soft bed.

"We'll stop in Salt Lake City to rest."

"I'm surprised that you haven't fallen over from exhaustion."

"How long has it been?"

"We've been up way too long. I'm even feelin' the effects."

If Faith was feeling the effects of running for two days straight, then he should be keeling over from sheer exhaustion. But somehow he wasn't. But once his head hit that pillow, he knew he'd be out for the count.

"Let's stop now," he suggested.

"Hey, best plan you've ever had."

"What? My plan for Angelus wasn't good?"

"Good? Maybe. But one where I was gonna get my ass kicked, so not so good in that respect."

"I know," Wesley sighed.

"And if you apologize for it, I'll slug you right here. It needed to be done."

"I should have been the one to do it."

"Sorry, but I like my watcher in one piece, thank you very fucking much."

Faith still referred to him as her watcher. He just wished that she wouldn't. It made dealing with her a challenge sometimes. He really just wanted to be her friend.

"You don't like that I call you that, do you?"

She read his mind yet again. He thought he had a decent poker face. But it never seemed to work around her. Cordelia was the only other person who could read him. And she stopped that long ago.

"Just because I'm not anymore. I realize though that you think the bond is still present."

"You don't think that it is?"

Wesley thought for a moment what it meant to be a watcher, what it meant to be responsible for one woman's life. He had no idea in Sunnydale what it meant to be responsible for Faith. In Los Angeles, he figured it out, somewhat too late for the two of them.

"I want us to be friends, if possible."

"Friends with benefits?" Faith asked him.

Wesley laughed at her assessment. Faith wanted to be friends with him. That was a plus. But she wanted something more from him. Would it be so hard to give her the physical part of a relationship without all the emotional parts that went along with it? He had tried with Lilah to separate the two, only to grow attached to her. He couldn't afford to grow attached to Faith. Not with all that was going on with his life.

"You're thinking too much over there," Faith added because he had been quiet too long.

"The friends part, I understand that. It's the second part that I don't know how to deal with."

"It's pretty simple, Wes. You scratch my itch, I'll scratch yours. No one is hurt. Everyone's happy. Not like I'm gonna set up housekeeping with you or anything. We'd kill each other inside of a week."

Faith was right, yet again. They could never live together, as anything. But if what she was saying was true, could he get past the fact that he could have feelings for her? She obviously didn't for him.

"You're right."

"I can't believe you just said that. Hard to admit, huh?"

"Not as hard as you think," he growled back, but not putting much venom behind it.

An exit with a motel appeared, so Wesley took it as an omen. Time to rest, he thought. His eyes drooped a little just thinking about it. Pulling into the motel parking lot, they both scanned the area for any trouble. Nothing was apparently dangerous.

"Go get a room. I'll drive this around back some place, just in case."

"I'll make sure it has one of those vibrating beds," Faith shot back.

She leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek. Pulling away, she opened the door to the cold air, making the interior chilly in an instant.

"Scratchy," she mumbled as she made her way over to the office.

Driving around back, Wesley found a nice spot to hide the truck. As he got out, he grabbed the two bags that held their belongings. Rounding the corner to go back to the parking lot, he saw movement out of the corner of his eye, making him stop. Before he could turn around, he was knocked to the ground hard.

* * *

Faith stood at the front desk of the motel, getting a room for the two of them. At least she didn't have to worry again about how many beds the room had. The man would share one with her, or she hoped that he would. The last time he had, she'd been sick as a dog. Now she was better. A real bed would be nice for a change. 

The clerk handed her the key to the room. She contemplated grabbing something to eat right after checking the room out, but decided that her itch needed scratching so much more than food. The conversation in the truck had revved her engines. It had been months since she broke up with Robin. Now that she had a willing man around, it made her want him all that much more.

She just hoped that Wes wanted her as much as she wanted him. That comment about friends with benefits threw him for a loop. She'd take anything she could get from the man. On the surface, she could hide her feelings with the best of them. Below the surface, she'd cry her eyes out once they arrived in Los Angeles. It was for the best though. She needed to concentrate on her life and he needed to go back to his.

She had just suggested the friends with benefits thing to stay close to him. But like always, relationships ended for her too quickly. At least this time she had control over where and how it ended.

Walking to the room, she noticed that the parking lot was empty of people. Wes hadn't made it back around from whatever hiding spot he had found. Which seemed strange since it took her a little while to check in and get the key. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as she looked around for him. He was nowhere in sight. But she could feel that he was near. Now wasn't that freaky. Must have been because of all the time they were spending together, she thought.

As she rounded the end of the motel, the lights came on in the parking lot. But no lights reached to the side, putting it in shadow. But she could still see rather well. The hiss to the side of the dumpster was unmistakable. She just hoped that Wes hadn't encountered whatever demon was hiding to surprise her.

Standing with her arms crossed over her chest, she stood still. "Come out."

The demon complied, bearing its teeth menacingly her way.

"You know, you guys always have the showy teeth. You're all bark and no bite. At least you'll be once I get done with you."

Faith was usually never one to quip while fighting. That was Buffy's forte. She just pummeled, slayed, and went home. Much more efficient to a certain degree. Not as much fun, but Faith could only handle one thought at a time while hitting things.

"Slayer," the thing hissed her way.

"Yeah? What's your deal? I'm not hassling you. You got a death wish or something?"

"No, but apparently, we do," Wesley spoke up behind her.

She cocked her head around to see Wesley surrounded by at least four very large, very nasty looking demons, all with guns trained on him.

"Damn," Faith muttered to herself.

Faith could see a slight trickle of blood on Wesley forehead. So he didn't go down without a fight. But guns were guns. She hated it when demons used guns.

"They would like to speak with us."

"No shit. We'll come. Just put those weapons down."

One of the demons stuck a gun into Wesley's back to get him to move in her direction.

"Not a chance," another one told her.

"You hurt him in any way, you'll be dead before he hits the ground," she challenged the demon with the gun directly pointed at Wesley.

"I doubt you're that fast."

"You wanna find out?"

"Faith, shall we just see what these gentleman want?"

Pointing to a building down the alleyway, Faith walked in front of the others, checking everything out. They would have to disable all the demons with guns before they could make a break for it. That would be difficult. Once they got inside the building, maybe that would be possible. They obviously were being led somewhere to meet whoever had been following them. These demons looked like the muscle, not the brains.

Another demon opened the door of a back room to some kind of business. As they entered, the one demon with the weapon trained on Wesley shoved him in, making him crash to the ground. Faith put herself in fighting stance, trying to assess whom to go for first.

"What did I say, you fucking moron?"

"Quiet," the hissing demon shouted.

Faith struck out at him, sending him to the ground also.

"Payback," she told it as she went over to help Wesley up.

"Not good to intimidate the demons with the guns, Faith," Wesley murmured to her as she helped him up.

"Thought it was a good idea at the time."

"I admire a human with spunk," a voice off in the distance said.

Faith turned towards it, getting in front of Wesley to protect him. She didn't care whether he liked it or not. It was her job to protect him. He'd just have to deal.

"I would admire a demon who didn't send a goon squad after me andshow their faces to me until now."

Wesley's hand on her shoulder made her realize that maybe she should tone down the biting comments since the gun totting demons were still around.

"Think you could ask Larry, Moe and Curly there to vacate the premises. We obviously have business to discuss," Faith shot back to the creature in the shadows.

A wave of the hand sent them away. The hissing demon was still present though, drawing his gun.

"No respect any more," Faith mumbled to herself.

"Slayer, I presume."

Great, this was about her. She had put Wesley in danger. This was all her fault.

"Yeah, sort of. There's lots of us runnin' around now. So I'm not The Slayer, if that's what you're askin'."

"Yes, we know about that unfortunate event. Makes my life much more difficult. But I know to which slayer I am talking."

"So talk."

"You killed an important member of my family."

Faith racked her brain. She killed bad demons all the time. What was this guy talking about?

"If you would show yourself, maybe we could work out a compromise," Wesley said from behind her.

She could feel the heat of his hand now on her arm, to hold her back at least momentarily. Until he could assess what they were dealing with. The creature came into view. Faith still didn't know who this was. The thing literally looked like a walking shark. Funny how many creatures resembled other animals from the wild? Like they evolved somehow from them.

"My relative. You shut his operation down in Cleveland. The gambling operation?"

Faith thought back to all that she had accomplished in Cleveland. She vaguely remembered shutting some demon down that was taking people's money in some gambling scheme. But she hadn't killed him.

"Uh, I don't remember much. But from what I do recall, I didn't kill him. Is that what this is about?"

"You are lying. He will be avenged."

"Not lying here."

Wesley tensed his hand up on her arm, pulling her back just slightly, to where her back was touching his chest.

"Why don't you perform the Ki'rah on her? To prove that she didn't commit this crime against your kin?"

"We have witnesses. It must be done."

The hissing demon raised the gun her way. She hoped that Wes had some ace up his sleeve, or she'd have to go for the guy with the deadly gun first.

"Then I claim the right to do it for you. You know you have to comply," Wesley spoke up.

"What?" Faith yelled.

"Very well, human. You may. But if she is found guilty, then she must face the consequences."

Faith didn't like these odds one bit. Wesley was going to prove her innocence? What if she accidentally killed this guy and she didn't know it?

The shark demon in front of her chanted a few phrases her way, making her wonder what on earth this test was. When Wes grabbed the guy's arm and then grabbed hers tightly, she found out in a big way what the test was. It was like lightening struck her. Wesley's eyes rolled in the back of his head, scaring her that he had been injured.

"Shit, Wes. Let go," she told him as she tried to get out of his grip.

He finally let her go, slumping down on the ground.

"Remember what I told you in that alley. Now's the time," she said as she advanced on the hissing demon with the gun.

"You are free to go," the head creature said, matter of factly.

"What? You hurt my watcher, then you say you can go?"

"Let's go, Faith," Wesley gasped from behind her.

"I didn't do it," she said with finality.

"Yes, I know. But now I know who did," the shark demon stated.

The shark raised a weapon quickly and shot the hissing demon down. Green goo and blue blood sprang from each of the holes the shark demon made. It shocked Faith that the guy could just turn on a colleague, even though he was just hired help. Not like it hadn't happened to her once or twice.

"I am sorry to inconvenience you," the demon stated as the other four goons came back into the room.

"OK. So no more hassling?"

"You stay out of my way . . . ," the demon started.

"And I stay out of yours. Just stay out of Cleveland, all right?"

"I think that I can manage that."

She just talked to a demon and he agreed to do what she told him. Was their honor in the demon world? She still wondered if she should take the asshole down, but the guns told her otherwise. And Wesley didn't look to be in the best shape right then. Why did they have to get their shit kicked every time they stopped? But maybe now they could quietly make it to Los Angeles, preferably in one piece.

Faith reached Wesley, but he shrugged out of her hold quickly, walking back to the motel down the street. He gathered up their bags that were left on the side of the motel, dragging them to their room. Faith quickly opened up the door. Wesley threw the bags down on the bed and marched into the bathroom, promptly throwing up the contents of his stomach.

As Faith sat on the bed, she wondered why on earth he kept taking such risks for her. Was he stupid, or did he just like pain? Of course, she kept jumping in front of him, trying to defend him.

Slowly walking out of the bathroom, Wesley sat down beside her, but not touching her. He was pale, but didn't look like she needed to take him to the hospital any time soon. She didn't know whether to get her anger out or to mother him.

"What in the fuck did you just do?"

Wes just sat there, putting his head between his hands. He was silent for a few moments. Faith slid her hand toward his, but he jerked it away quickly.

"He was going to perform a ritual to see if you had lied to him. By acting as a conduit, I successfully made sure that it didn't scramble your brain cells. The Ki'rah has been known to do that to humans."

"What? It didn't scramble yours?"

"Because I wasn't the one he was after. I am proud of you though."

He was proud of her? Since when? Maybe after the Angelus thing, but he wasn't very verbal about it.

"Huh? What did I do now?"

"You didn't kill that demon in Cleveland. And you held off until I could ascertain what kind of demon he was."

"Yeah, well. As I said, Wes. I do trust you."

"And one more thing?"

"OK," Faith said hesitantly.

"If I touch you, I'll shock you. That's why I pulled my hand away."

Faith let her breath out, glad that he wasn't really pulling away from her right that instant. She knew it would happen. She just wasn't quite ready for it yet.

"How bad a shock?"

"Not as bad as in that room back there, but it might hurt."

Faith reached over and grabbed his hand. A jolt of electricity passed between them. She let go quickly, shaking her hand.

"Just testing. How long do we have to wait?"

"I'm not sure. A day, maybe two."

They could be in Los Angeles before it wore off. So they'd have to find something to get rid of this damn little curse. She'd take drastic measures. Before she could suggest to him her course of action, he grabbed her hand back. It shocked again, but not as much as before.

"We could just keep doing that, couldn't we?" Faith asked him.

"Feeling a little green around the gills?"

"Not so much. You?"

"It passed. No food left."

Faith grabbed his arm, feeling the jolt again. But this time she didn't let go. The shock dissipated to nothing as she held on. Both panted from the pain, but took deep breaths as it passed.

"You know, if I let go, we'll get shocked again."

Wesley grinned at her. "Then don't."

"Not gonna. Unless you know, you have to use the powder room. So what do we do now?"

"We sleep."

Yeah, right, she thought. They'll sleep. But when Wesley laid his head down for two seconds, still holding her hand, he was asleep. So she joined him, putting a blanket over him and crawling underneath the blanket to sink into the bed beside him.

TBC

Next: Is Faith going to get to use that knife? And what is the deal with it? They finally get to Vegas and have a quiet night, just the two of them.

Author notes: Oh, wow. We're almost done with this fic. Probably two to three more chapters left. I hope you like how this is playing out. I probably didn't surprise any of you about the revelation at the beginning of the chapter. It explains why Faith ran instead of staying. I will explain why she is significant to the dagger, shortly. I hope that this chapter was long enough on the details of the demons that were chasing Faith and Wes. I felt like we'd seen enough of that, so I finished it more abruptly than I would have liked. I really need to get out of this rut I've put both of these characters in. They both seem to be taking on the same personalities in every fic I write. Something I need to work on. But for now, I want to finish this one. So please keep reading and commenting.

Thanks go out to: Man, since the site has been down for so long, I was surprised that I even got any reviews. But it looked like people were able to get some in anyway. Thanks so much for persevering, checking back to see if I posted, or getting the e-mail and going on to do it. Thanks to Tariq, eriniyes (yay, new reviewer), psychotic chaos (another new reviewer), NAA76 (another one), Steph, and all the others that are following this.

Answers to questions:

I have e-mailed several of you the other site. If you want the NC-17 version, just e-mail me and I'll send it to you. Make sure you're old enough.

Psychotic chaos—by the way, love the name. I did read that fic. It is one of my favorites too. Know of any others? I'm always out there, trying to find good fics with this pairing. I've read so much good stuff!

NAA76—You are so nice in your review. Thanks a bunch. I really want to do that challenge. If those plot bunnies would just let me go.

Steph—A primo reviewer!! You so busted me on that dialogue. I need to toughen it up a bit. Good catch. Work with me on the hiatus (that's what I'd call it). She will rage, just wait. But thanks for keeping me on my toes. I sometimes soften Faith up a little too much, knowing that she has changed, but not to that extreme. Keep on poring over that stuff and make sure I'm going where I need to go.


	11. No Regrets

Author Note: Here it is. One of those chapters where one goes "WTF". Well, I'm out on that limb now. I hope I can climb back without it breaking. Hope you like. This chapter is dedicated to my computer partner, my keyboard tapper, Samantha, who was my cat. She passed away on Sunday. I am already too lonely without her purrs. On with the story.

Chapter Eleven – No Regrets

Wesley's whole body trembled before her, like he was battling within himself for control. She truly wanted to help him, but he was beyond her help. He had died already, way before she could have done any good. Now all she could do was complete what Angel had told her she must do. The dagger weighed heavily against her side.

"You died," she whispered, loud enough that he could hear her proclamation.

"I didn't know about her. You never told me."

"I couldn't. You, it never seemed like the right time. The one time I tried calling, they said that something had happened to you. That Fred had died."

"She died because of me. It's all my fault," he gasped as if in pain.

"What did you do at Wolfram and Hart to deserve this? This is so wrong."

Wesley arose from his knee, holding his head like it would fall off. She didn't want to get any closer to him, but she had to, to be able to carry out her mission. She just wished she wasn't holding the baby to do it.

"She's beautiful," Wesley declared.

"Her name's Arianna. She looks a lot like you. She's sweet and smart. She's such a good baby."

Wesley looked at her longingly. He would never be able to see his daughter grow up. Did she take that away from him, by not telling him as soon as she found out she was pregnant? Or would he have shucked his responsibility of helping her out? Probably wouldn't, since he felt guilty about the whole fucking world.

"Why are you here, like this?" she asked again, wanting to know why he was chasing Angel.

"I tried to save her. I couldn't save her. This was the only way, they said. Now she will be at peace."

"Fred? You sold your soul for Fred?"

He sold his soul for another woman. That hurt her. Now she knew the depth of feelings he had for the Texan. Something that she never could have with him.

"Illyria destroyed her soul. I brought it back. She'll be at peace now."

"You fucking moron. How can you believe them?"

"Because I saw her," he said, with a look of contentment on his face, "on my way to hell."

"No. You're not going to hell. They are. Those Senior Partner jackasses. You can't kill Angel. He'll make them pay for what they did to you. Do you hear me?"

"It's too late. They're coming. It's too late."

A car screeched to a halt before them, headlights blinding Faith momentarily. Three figures raced out of the car, holding up when they saw that Wesley was with her. Angel, Spike, and someone who looked an awful lot like Fred approached them cautiously.

"He's not gone yet," Angel announced as the three circled them.

"I can't do it," she told him, knowing that she would have to soon.

"Faith, it's not him. Just kill whatever that is," Spike shouted at her.

"You're not alive, Spike. You went up with Sunnydale," Faith said, astonished that Spike was back in the land of the living. He won't. Just do it."

The chick with the blue hair that looked like Fred had tears in her eyes. Spike looked haggard, like he just didn't want to exist anymore. Angel hadn't told her any of this. Only that Wolfram and Hart had a standard in perpetuity clause for Wesley, making him theirs until she freed him from that slavery in his afterlife. She figured only she could do it by what Angel had told her.

"Could we help him? Maybe?" she asked, grasping at straws.

"No. You have to do it."

"Why?"

"Why? You're asking them why?" Wesley yelled at her, scaring Arianna.

The baby sniffled a little, and then buried her head in Faith's shoulder. She had tried keeping a nice, comfortable environment for her child, no swearing, no violence, nothing to upset the baby. Now she knew why she had done it. She'd give her life to protect her child. Just as Wesley had given his soul to protect the one that he loved.

"He killed the only other person who could have completed the ritual, Faith," Spike answered for him.

"I did not do that. Don't you ever say that I did that," Wesley spit out fiercely.

"Your mother's dead, mate. Sounds to me like you did it."

Wesley lunged for Spike now, trying to take him down. But Spike jumped aside, tossing him to the ground.

"It's already started, Wes. Just let her do it. You'll be at peace," Angel told him in soothing tones.

"Peace? When did you ever give me peace, Angel?" Wesley started angrily. "After all these years, you never gave me peace. Heartache, yes. Wounds enough to kill an ordinary man, definitely. But peace? You wouldn't know the name of it. You just wish that it was you stabbing me in the gut."

Angel ignored his rants and faced Faith. "Faith, they're coming. You have to do it, now. So they can't track us. Without him, it'll be a lot more difficult."

Faith watched all the drama with amazement. She really didn't know the levels to which Angel's relationship with Wesley had gone. She knew that Wes would have risked quite a bit for Angel, to the point of dying for him. But right then she didn't know whether Angel would do the same. He had taken on Wolfram and Hart, and lost almost everything. Did Angel figure out that maybe he was wrong in taking such a risk? But Wesley would have gone along with whatever plan that Angel had, willingly. Just as she would have. Fight the good fight, and die trying.

"Slayer, you must complete what has been started," the blue girl said, finally breaking her silence.

"Illyria, don't talk to her, you bitch," Wesley shouted.

This was not the Wesley she knew. This was just some shell that Wolfram and Hart were using to capture and/or kill Angel and what was left of his gang.

"Wes, just wait. I have to do it. You know I do."

"Not you," he sneered out.

That puzzled Faith, enough to make her stop from drawing out the dagger. She could feel it hum in her hand as she touched it in her pocket. Was there something that Angel hadn't told her?

But before she could carry out her task, figures in black combat gear surrounded them, melting out of the background like they had already been there. There must have been at least thirty bodies standing around the roadway, making sure that all exits were cut off for them. How was she going to protect Arianna from this?

"Spike, baby," Angel yelled while punching out the first figure to reach him.

The fight started, and Faith didn't know where to go. She kicked out her legs several times to keep the human-like figures at bay. But the odds were not in her favor, with a child in her arms. Spike rushed over, tackling two who had tried to get to Faith. She heard bones crunch as he broke both of their necks in succession. Then he stood in front of her.

"Give her to me. Angel needs help."

She couldn't believe that Spike wanted her child. "What?"

"He didn't tell you?"

Spike elbowed another figure and lashed out at one behind him with a swift swinging kick of his leg.

"No. What is going on?"

"I can stand more abuse. I'll protect her. Don't worry. Please trust me Faith. I'll protect her with my life."

She could see that what Spike was saying was true. He would protect her child with his life. She did trust him. And she'd keep her eyes on him, stay near him until the fight was over.

The blue being that Wes had called Illyria was mowing the black clad figures down quicker than any of them could. By the time they got down to the last few, Faith had only taken out a few. As some of their masks fell away, she could see that they didn't have faces, but faceplates. At least they weren't human. When she looked around, Wes was also fighting, on their side. Now why would he do that, she thought?

Faith started to draw the dagger, hoping against hope that she didn't have to finish whatever ritual Angel had started. As the last figure fell, Angel grabbed her arm to stay her.

"It's now or never, Faith."

"But he helped us," she begged.

"I know. But it's too late. Please. He would want this."

Faith knew Angel was right. Wes would never have signed his soul away if he were of sound mind. Fred dying must have pushed him over the edge. She had been to that edge once, and had almost jumped off of it before Angel pulled her back by her fingertips. There was no going back now.

Spike came forward with Arianna. "Faith, you, you . . . ," he couldn't finish.

"You must hold the child. It is the only way," Illyria finished for him.

"What? Angel, what is she talking about?"

Wesley walked around the carnage like he was seeing it for the first time, even though he caused some of it.

"The ritual requires that a female of the family perform the last part."

Faith gasped, pulling Arianna away from Spike. It wasn't Faith that Angel wanted, it was her daughter. Wesley's daughter. That's why someone had killed his mother.

"Faith, please. This isn't fair to him," Spike softly told her.

Faith grabbed onto the dagger and pulled it out of its hiding place. Wesley now stood still in the middle of all the bodies, just shaking his head back and forth.

"Faith, what do I do?" he asked her with a confused look on his face as she approached.

Luckily Arianna was holding tight to Faith's neck and hadn't faced forward. She didn't want her daughter to see what was going to happen, even though she would be too young to remember any of it.

"You'll be at peace. You'll be with Fred."

"I will not be with Fred. What I told you before, about going to hell? What I said was true. Fred was good, pure, innocent. Not me, never me."

"Wes, don't say that," Faith spoke softly as she came within arm's length of him.

"It's true. You have to understand."

"I do understand. I understand that you did what you thought was right."

The other three beings approached Faith. She didn't want them to interfere with this.

"As I always do. But Faith? I would have done it for you too."

Faith shook her head no, knowing that what he was saying wasn't true. It was a nice sentiment, saying that he'd sacrifice everything for her, his very soul for her, but it wasn't true.

"No, you wouldn't. But thank you for saying it."

Faith thrust the dagger into his middle because that's where the dagger wanted to travel. She was just the instrument. A flash of light escaped from Wesley and traveled up her arm to stop on Arianna. She glowed softly until it dissipated, not hurting the child one bit. Looking down, Wesley slid to the ground, a smile on his face. His eyes returned to their normal, striking blue.

He mumbled something as his body hit the ground. It sounded like he told her that he loved her, but she couldn't believe it. He may have been her friend, her confidant, her watcher, but never did he actually love her. She had been the only one to fall in love with him, not the other way around.

"Thank you," he whispered as his eyes closed.

"You were a good man," Faith cried out, wanting him to know what she thought.

Spike bent over, making sure that she had succeeded in her mission. He dragged his hands through his blonde hair, sighing as if defeated.

"He's gone. We won this round," Spike said as he stood, but with no glee in his voice.

"He was a good man, Angel," Faith repeated for him, choking on the words.

"I know he was. Rest in peace, Wes."

Angel pulled the dagger out and placed it in his pocket. As Angel, Spike and Illyria slowly walked away, he called back to her.

"Go Faith. Get out of here before the authorities arrive. We'll take care of this."

"You're just leaving?" she shouted as they started to climb into their car.

"We have to. Wolfram and Hart won't stop until we're dead. Now at least we have a fighting chance. Don't hide anymore, Faith. You're a slayer. Go be what you're supposed to be."

Faith knew there was no going back to what she was for those few months. There were people that needed help and only she, along with a couple hundred other girls, could do that job. Arianna would be just as safe in that environment as she was before, but at least she would have a true family, people that cared about her. Darcy cared about her, but didn't know the true Faith.

"I can't just leave him?" Faith cried, watching as the three drove away into the night. "I won't leave you, OK, Wes? I'll see that you get home."

* * *

November 2003

"Yeah, Vegas baby," Faith said as they saw the glow of the Strip.

Wesley just rolled his eyes at her excitement. Las Vegas was a town that never slept. Something that they had done finally in that motel room last night. They had both slept like babies, not stirring until mid-morning. By then, whatever aftereffects of the spell that the demon had performed had worn off. He was glad that he wouldn't shock Faith anymore and vice versa. He was also glad that they had finally figured out why someone was gunning for them, although the reasons were quite lame in his opinion. The demon spent too much time and energy just to avenge a relative. And in the end, it was someone close to him who had caused it.

"Come on, let's max out that Wolfram and Hart credit card? What'll ya say?" Faith asked him.

"Faith. That would not be the appropriate thing to do. Besides, the firm has a suite in one of the hotels. We can just stay there and not have to pay for a room."

"Hey, same as getting a room, dumbass. You're just usin' a corporate perk."

He guessed she was right. But he had already called and booked the reservation from the motel before they had left. He really wanted a nice, hot, long shower and nice, clean sheets to sleep on. He was sure that Faith probably would like that also. None of the motels that they had stayed in had much in the way of comfort. He could at least offer that to her for one night.

"Yes, I guess you are right. So we'll check in, then grab some dinner."

He could see Faith grin even in the darkening shadows of the car.

"Then what? Hey, we could go dancing?"

Wesley groaned out loud at her idea. She must know by now that he was a terrible dancer, while she could probably get any dance partner she wanted. That would not be an option. He shook his head no.

"Party pooper."

"Let's just get to the dinner part."

"Well, the only part we'll be dressed for are those buffets for three ninety-nine. Unless the firm keeps spare clothes in that luxury suite of theirs."

"I doubt that very much."

Wesley hadn't thought about their small, serviceable attire one bit. Sure, it was durable, but not very good for actually going out to dinner. He would have to rectify that as soon as they arrived.

As they checked in, the desk clerk kept eyeing them up and down, making a phone call that was probably to verify his employment. Wesley couldn't give a damn about what the man thought. He wanted his hot shower and he wanted it right then.

"Is there a problem?" he finally asked.

"No, not at all Mr. Pryce," the clerk answered.

"Mr. Wyndam-Pryce if you please. Now the keys to the room?"

The clerk finally handed over two of those cardkeys that would gain them access to their room. The bellhop moved to carry their two small bags, but Wesley waved him off just so they could get to it faster.

Faith had started shifting from foot to foot, Wesley noticed, which must have meant that this all was making her a little uncomfortable. He finally decided to say something to her while they rode up in the elevator.

"If this is too much for you, we'll find another place to stay," he told her.

"Oh, ohhhhhhhh. No, not too much. I just need to go so badly. And it was makin' the clerk so freaked, so I decided to keep it up. Damn, will this elevator hurry?"

Faith practically ran down the corridor to the room, punching in the card quickly, gaining access to the room. Wesley caught the door as it tried to close on him. Faith was already moving towards the facilities as he took in the enormity of the room. It was bigger than his apartment in LA and then some. The views were spectacular as he looked out from the balcony doors to the twinkling lights below. Nothing but the best for Wolfram and Hart.

"Can you fucking believe this room? This is so wicked cool. You oughta see the size of the bathroom? Man, you could go swimmin' in the tub," she went on as she came back out.

"Why don't you do that?"

"What? Go swimming in that tub? It's a thought. But I wanted you to be in there with me," she purred as she came closer to him.

He did want to be in there with her, but he had other plans while she cleaned up.

"I was going to procure us some clothing. I don't think they'd want a naked slayer running around, now would they?"

"Hey, with the clothes some of those showgirls wear, I'm not so sure anyone would notice."

"I would," Wesley admitted as he pulled her into his arms.

He was afraid that what he was doing was presumptuous, but in for a penny, in for a pound as the saying went.

"I'll bet you would," she said as she yanked his head down for a kiss.

She took her time to explore his mouth with her tongue, gently teasing him until he finally decided to break contact to take a breath.

"I should, um, go, if we want to have clothing, as such," Wesley stammered.

"Yeah. You do that. Don't take long, though."

Faith grabbed an apple off of one of the tables in the room. As she tossed it in the air, she winked at him. Throwing off her jacket and stepping out of her shoes, she pulled her top over her head, all the while eyeing him. If Wesley didn't get out of there right that instant, they definitely wouldn't be going anywhere anytime soon. As Faith shimmied out of her jeans, he closed his eyes, not wanting to see that last temptation. Hearing the crunch of that apple made him wonder why he was leaving. He finally opened them again as she sashayed her way totally naked into the bathroom and closed the door. Hurrying back was the best course of action, he thought.

* * *

Faith hadn't taken a bubble bath in quite a while. It felt totally great to be able to rest in a tub as big as a king-sized bed and not have some girl pounding at the door to get in. Having a bunch of slayers around really did suck sometimes. So Faith only took baths when all the slayers were asleep, which meant at four o'clock in the morning.

She liked teasing Wesley as he left to find them more clothes. Man, he sure did blush a pretty shade of pink every time she embarrassed him, or was that every time she turned him on. Didn't matter to her. Maybe she'd get him into this enormous tub later on that night. It was only six in the evening, plenty of time for dinner and whatever else might come up. At least, that's what she hoped for.

The night before they had both slept like the dead, which thank God they hadn't become in the first place. That shark demon thingy really was creepy. She just hoped that she never ran into the thing again, or she'd have to chop it up into little pieces or something. She was just glad that she and Wes got away without too many problems.

As she soaked and washed, she contemplated what her next move would be. Should she seduce him or wait and see what he had planned? She never could wait for anything, but she would be curious to see if she could drive him crazy without touching him. The man looked like he was ready to pop out there in the room. Not that she wasn't feeling the effects too.

Faith never was a primper, always getting her makeup and hair done as quickly as she could. But tonight, she shaved and moisturized and did all those things that girls did when they wanted to impress a man. Luckily, the suite had most of the things that she needed, including a hair dryer. Now she wouldn't have to freeze her butt off with damp hair. The hair took forever to dry that morning because she didn't want to wait to dry it. And Wes was waiting for his turn at the bathroom. Now she took that time.

Faith couldn't tell how long she took to do all that, so as she entered the outer room, she looked around for Wes. Not seeing him, she traveled towards the huge bed. On it was a box with a note.

"A present?"

She opened the note to read. It just said her name and his initials, which meant that Wesley had been back, but was nowhere to be seen. Then she heard another shower going somewhere. Silently as she could, she opened another door, realizing that the room they were in was a true suite. The other door revealed a living area. She tiptoed to the other door, pushing it open to find another bedroom. Wesley's bag sat askew on the bed. So he had been back, she thought. She'd love to go and join him in that shower, but had just gotten her hair the way she wanted it. Well, she'd let him mess it up later, after dinner. Her stomach gave a loud growl, telling her that she needed food in a fat hurry.

Making her way back into the other bedroom, she decided to go ahead and open that box on the bed. Pulling the top off, she first found undergarments.

"Whoa," she exclaimed as she saw that there wasn't much to them. "Horny bastard," she said out loud. "But with good taste." The silk in her fingers felt like heaven.

Then she pealed away another layer of tissue paper to find a dress of some sort. Shaking it out, she found an elegant black evening gown. It looked to be backless, which explained the configuration of the bra. Damn it, she hated those things.

Slipping her towel off, she shimmied the dress over her head, just to try it on. She'd take it off to put on the sexy underwear next. She just wanted to feel what the dress was like, and to also see if it fit.

The front was a halter-top kind of deal, with the middle cut almost down to her navel. If she weren't careful, she'd spill out of the thing. But as she clasped the thing around her waist, she figured that she wouldn't because of how it was made. She just wouldn't bend over at all. The skirt part was slightly pleated, which gave her enough room to maybe dance in and not be too constricting. It reached her ankles, but had a slit all the way up one side to the middle part of her thigh.

The black, silky material felt so good on her skin. Too bad he'd probably rip it off of her later that night. Maybe she'd take it off to be more proactive. Sliding the skimpy underwear on, she decided to go sans the bra and give old Wes a shock at dinner. It might be fun to see him flustered in a public place. Oh, she knew she'd pay for it once they were back in the room, but she didn't care. It would be fun.

Going back into the bathroom, she finished her makeup, tidied her hair and made her way back out into the room to wait for him. Only he had made it back before she had. He stood in the middle, holding a pair of high-heeled pumps, grinning at her from ear to ear.

He had shaved, was the first thought through her brain. That didn't take away from his dark sex appeal one bit. He looked at her with one eyebrow arched up high.

"You like?" Faith asked as she posed for him.

He just stood still to look her over, his blue eyes smoldering. And she looked him over too. His dark suit, dark tie, and white shirt made him look a little dangerous. Why hadn't he looked that way in Sunnydale with all those tailored suits he wore? Must have been because of the expression. He never had that I'll devour you in one big bite look like he did now. And if he didn't stop looking at her in that way, they'd never make it to dinner.

"I approve," he finally said, holding out the shoes to her.

"You expect me to wear those? What, are you fucking crazy?"

"Can't exactly wear your boots with that?"

Then he almost choked, she saw. She had worn her boots with that ugly, yellow dress not too long ago. Should she challenge him and wear the boots, or be a good girl and wear the fucking heels?

"I could," she drawled out. "But I won't. For you. You obviously have some kind of shoe fetish or something."

"Or something."

As she slipped them on, she leaned over so that he would get a good look at what she was wearing, or not wearing as the case was. The small intake of breath said it all. He could see quite clearly that she only had the dress on. Maybe she should take the underwear off too?

"Shall we?" he said as she stood up straight.

Offering his arm, she walked over to him, glad that his arm was there and she wouldn't fall on her face walking in the heels. How did Buffy wear these things ever?

"If I break my fucking ankle, you'll pay, smartass."

"I guess that means you'll have to hold onto me then?"

"Yeah, I guess it does," she told him as they made their way out of the room for a night on the town.

* * *

They didn't have to go far to eat, since the hotel had several nice restaurants to choose from. And then they wouldn't have to have coats on. Wesley wanted to see Faith in her new dress. It looked quite lovely on her. He had chosen it well for her shape. Guessing on her size, he had them wrap it up with the accompanying undergarments. Unfortunately, or fortunate for him, she had chosen to not wear the bra. He just hoped she didn't bend over for anyone else. The cut of it made it quite easy to see the smooth, round sides of her full breasts. And if he didn't stop thinking about those, they wouldn't make it through dinner.

Arriving at the restaurant, several men turned her way as she walked in. It did make him a tad bit jealous, but she was with him that night. He didn't think that it would matter to him that other men noticed her. But it did. And if she bent down, she'd be giving them a free show.

"No bending over," he whispered in her ear as they made their way to the table.

"Maybe later," she quipped back.

Well, he had set himself up for that one. He couldn't blame her for taking advantage of it.

"Yes, I do believe we could do that also."

She giggled a little as they sat down at their booth at the back of the restaurant. Their backs were to the wall. One could never be too careful. He was sure that Faith would appreciate it also. Sliding in, they sat close together, but not touching. He figured that Faith would be trying to drive him insane, but she didn't touch him. Now what had she planned?

The waiter handed them menus. He asked them if they would like drinks before ordering.

"Give me one of those martini things," she said as she looked over the menu.

"Scotch on the rocks, please," he told the waiter.

"Eww. How can you like that? Kinda gross."

"And a martini isn't?"

"I don't know. I just wanted to try it. I've never had one."

Then Wesley realized that Faith was really so much younger and inexperienced than he was. She hadn't traveled as much of the world as he had, hadn't experienced it as much as he had. Sure, she had saved the world from unspeakable evil a few times. But she hadn't gotten to be a normal person. Never a normal girl.

"Hey, I'm old enough," she chided him.

"I know exactly how old you are, Faith. I was just surprised is all."

"What? I've drunk plenty. Just never anything fancy. Beer, whiskey, stuff like that. Kind of looked like you had the whiskey part down the last time I saw your place."

And she had good observation skills. He really hadn't cleaned his apartment fully in quite a while before she stayed there that one time. There had been several empty whiskey bottles lying around.

"Yes, my drinking phase. Not a pretty sight."

"At least I wasn't around when you were banging that lawyer bitch."

Faith winced as the statement came out. She put her hand over her mouth to stop any more from coming out.

"Faith. It's in the past. And I'm glad you weren't around to see that. Lilah and I had a complicated, um, whatever it might have been."

Faith looked him in the eyes now, realizing that she had said something terribly wrong to him. He didn't flinch one bit from it. No, he was over Lilah.

"Did you love her?"

Wesley couldn't believe that Faith had asked him that. Did he love Lilah? Whatever they had couldn't be love, he had told himself over and over. He had come to care for her in some way and he was sure she had also to the extent she could care for any other human being. But did that equal love? Honestly, he couldn't say that it did.

"No, Faith. I did not. I did care for her in some fashion."

"Oh, good," Faith stammered. "You at least did care for her. It just wasn't for the sex."

Oh, so that's what she was getting at, he thought. She wanted to know what her status was with him. He didn't have the first clue. Yes, he did care for her, maybe even deeply. But did he love her? Did he know how to love someone? He thought he did, with Fred. But she had spurned his advances.

"No, it was mostly for the sex. That's the only way we could communicate to a certain degree. Not anything like you and I."

Faith glanced away from him, not wanting to see his eyes. Could she read him that easily? Would her eyes give away any secrets?

"Faith, if this is about us, I'm not sure what is going on between us. I just want to enjoy the time we have together."

Faith let out that breath she was holding, like that was the answer she was looking for from him. He hoped that was the answer she wanted.

"We will enjoy it."

The waiter sat their drinks down, Faith sipping hers quietly next to him. They ordered their food quickly. The woman beside him shut down then. She didn't say much as they drank. Now that worried him.

He could smell her shampooed hair that was mere inches from his head. If he looked just so he could see somewhat down her dress, just like she had hoped he would. But what he wanted to look at were her big, dark eyes. And she still hadn't turned to look at him. Either she was mad at him, or had nothing to say to him. He didn't believe the latter. Then it definitely must be the former.

So he held up his glass for a toast. "Here's to tonight," he spoke softly.

She finally turned her head to look at him, to clink their glasses together. Still too far away, he leaned in to get closer. The fire in her eyes was unmistakable. But she still didn't touch him. So it was the driving him insane approach, he thought. She wouldn't touch him. Begging would be in order very soon.

Leaning over, he came close to her ear to whisper. "Let the games begin."

He could see the shiver down her arm as his coat brushed up against it slightly. Taking her drink up again, she practically saluted him to do his best.

The first course of their meal arrived in short order, making conversation moot at that point. Wesley still looked at her as he ate, thinking that his staring would cause her to crack at one point. It didn't, until they were almost done with the main course.

"You're staring," she finally told him.

"Am I?"

"You know you are. What gives?"

"I can't look at a beautiful woman?"

Faith snorted a little at his comment. "Yeah, I guess. Where is she?"

"Right here in front of me," he said as his mouth closed over hers gently.

He was tired of waiting for her to move. She sighed as she sank into the kiss. Pulling away, he went back to eating his entrée. Faith just sat and stared at him then. Turnabout was fair play, he realized. Now she could stare at him.

"Are you done eating?" he asked as the waiter came around to take their plates.

"For now," she growled a little.

"Dessert?"

"Not if you want to be able to walk in the morning."

That had him chuckling. He wondered that if he touched her under the table that she would go off like a rocket and scream. Instead he trailed a finger gently down her arm, raising goose bumps in its wake.

"I take it that means you're ready to go?"

"Won't take much. On your mark. Get set. Go."

She grinned at him as her hand hit his thigh. Her nails raked up and down lightly.

"Would you like to dance?"

Faith's eyes widened in surprise. "I thought there was no dancing tonight."

Wesley pointed to a small dance floor that had a few couples swaying to a slow beat.

"Sure," she agreed, scooting out of the booth, making damn sure he got another view of her front.

Wesley quickly wrote their room number down on the check and left an enormous tip, not wanting to take the time to count out the bills. Faith led him over to the floor.

The two stood in front of each other, Wesley holding her hand, but no other parts touching. Looking down at her, he saw the merriment in her eyes, like she was challenging him to make the first move. Pulling her hand up to his lips, he placed a light kiss on the top of it.

"May I have this dance?" he whispered as he leaned into her.

She just grinned back and shook her head yes, knowing that she was having a devastating effect on him. Grasping her around the waist, he slowly pulled her to him, clasping her tightly until good portions of each of their anatomies were touching. If she didn't know how much he wanted her then, she did now. Her eyes said it all. She knew exactly what she was doing to him, even before the dance. Her arms came up around his neck to hold him tighter, binding him to her completely.

He could feel the heat of her naked back as his hands came around her waist fully. His fingers touched her soft back as they barely moved to the music that was playing. Faith's hands tangled in the back of his hair, fingers twirling around, making him shiver slightly at her ministrations.

"You do look quite lovely tonight," he said as he brought her mouth closer to her ear.

"You're lookin' pretty handsome yourself. And you shaved. Just for me?"

"Yes, just for you. Considering what I have planned for you, I thought it might be wise."

Faith couldn't resist any longer and pulled his mouth to hers. When they finally came up for air, he looked around to realize that they had been making out in front of several dozen people, many of them very envious right at that moment.

"Time to go?" he asked.

"Ready as ever. How about you?"

"Oh God, yes," he honestly told her as he grasped her hand in his, leading her out of the restaurant and to the elevator.

Faith slipped her shoes off as the elevator moved to their floor.

"Too bad there's cameras," Faith barely whispered, but enough for Wesley to hear.

He was hard just thinking about taking her right then. As soon as the elevator stopped and the doors opened, they both were down the hall just as quickly as their legs could take them with no running. Wesley whipped out his keycard, pushed it in too fast and couldn't open the door the first time. He rolled his eyes as his shaking hand tried again, succeeding in getting the door unlocked. Faith immediately pushed it open for him, throwing her shoes to the ground. As soon as the door shut, she slammed him against it and ground her lips to his.

"You're drivin' me crazy," she gasped as she tore her mouth away to place bites on his neck.

"Slow down, love. We have all night."

"Nuh uh. I want you, now."

"I guess I could accommodate you this one time," he jokingly told her.

She grabbed his crotch, making him pull her to the bed. Landing with a thud, Faith worked her way out from underneath him to crawl onto the bed more fully. He decided to shuck the jacket and tie before climbing on more to meet her. Her underwear went flying over his head. She propped the leg on the side that had the slit up, exposing it all the way to her hipbone. Kicking off his shoes and wrenching off his socks, he crawled up until he was directly over her. As he placed a light kiss on her knee, he could see her shiver a little at the contact.

He was finally going to do this right. Not some groping in the car or some fumbling after one or both of them was ill. This he would remember for quite some time. Faith trusted him, fully. Wishing it had been sooner, he realized that like Lilah, there were only certain levels that this relationship could ever go. He and Faith could only relate on a few levels. Or was it that he didn't want to relate to her, didn't want to get to know the real her?

"Wes, stop thinking and start doin' or I'm takin' over."

She was handing over control to him. He didn't know whether to be satisfied or scared.

"So lovely," he whispered as his mouth descended to her exposed leg again. By the time he reached her toes, she was already panting and he had only touched the one leg.

"I need you, now, Wes."

Faith pulled his head back to her lips, crushing hers to his almost violently. Her hands went for his zipper, working him out inthose talented hands quickly. As he pulled out a small foil packet, she laughed a little.

"Don't be such a Boy Scout. Not happenin' in this lifetime. You think that knife didn't do any damage to me in Sunny D, well the rest of my life has made it impossible for any little Faiths to run around this screwed up world."

"I'm sorry," he told her as he kissed her cheek, wanting her to know that it wasn't fair.

"No big. Live fast, die young. Which means, get a move on or I'm tackling you."

Throwing the packet over his shoulder, he yanked her skirt up and found her ready and willing to go. They hadn't even had the chance to take the rest of their clothes off before they joined together. He hadn't realized the effects of Faith's not touching him at dinner would do to him. He almost embarrassed himself by finishing before she did. Luckily she arched beneath him a few seconds after, making him feel somewhat better. That wasn't exactly the smoothest seduction that he had done in his life.

Wesley rolled off of her as she pushed him slightly. Pulling the dress over her head, she scooted off and walked into the bathroom. And he just lay there stunned. It was over in a few minutes time.

"Get your ass in here," Faith yelled.

Maybe it wasn't over yet, he thought. By the time the night was through, they had christened most of the rooms in the suite. Curling up on the bed finally, they both drifted off to sleep, intertwined after a wonderful night together.

TBC

Next: The funeral. And back to Los Angeles the two go.

Author notes version 2: I just didn't do that. I killed him for good. Can you believe I did that? Wow. That really hurt. Some of you guessed vampire, but no. Some of you didn't guess, but probably meant you already sort of knew. What I did was I tied in the scene that Wes had with Lilah, trying to save her from that damn piece of paper that she signed. He did the same thing in order to save Fred's soul. In his mind, it was the only way. He knew eventually that he would die, but what he didn't know were the consequences, W&H having that much control over him. I just made up the thing about the female of the family breaking the clause. Did it work? And yes, there will be an NC-17 version of this up shortly. E-mail me with site info if you want to read.

Thanks go out to: I do have to say that after reading all the reviews, I really did almost cry. I've had a crappy week and weekend because of my cat, but reading them on Sunday night made me feel a little joy. So thanks to all who have reviewed or just said hi. Thanks to tp96, Allen Pitt, pari106, mandie, psychotic chaos, Wav, Steph, and everyone else. You've made me push on this.

Answers to questions:

Tp96—don't worry, I know you're out there somewhere.

Allen Pitt—Nope, sorry. But the controlled part is correct.

Pari106—Yes, I am a drama queen.

Mandie—Did I catch you by surprise? Don't think that you're ever dumb.

Psychotic chaos—nope, no vamp in this fic.

Wav—A little PWP? Just a tad. Not my scene to write, but it was fun to try. Site down—really bad. Yeah, Steph was so right! Faith is always a work in progress for me.

Steph—Thank you, oh thank you. Lots of help from your e-mail.


	12. End of the Line

Author note: Man, when I posted the last chapter, I somehow cut out a line in the first part. When Faith said that Spike went up with Sunnydale, Spike should have replied, "I got better. He won't. Just do it." So that Faith would stab Wes with the knife. I didn't want to try and replace the chapter just yet. The one time I did that, I somehow deleted a chapter (another fic). This is the last chapter, boo hoo. Please read and review.

Chapter Twelve – End of the Line

The church was cold and damp, seeping into her bones. She'd never be warm again. It had been raining nonstop since Faith had arrived in England. Accompanying her was Wesley's body. She had been the one to arrange for its transport to England. Giles had helped her with it all, and had also helped with the funeral. She had no idea whatsoever what religion Wesley was, much less how things were handled for funerals. It wasn't something she had ever bothered with in her life. Even when her mother had died, a distant cousin had handled everything. Now it was her responsibility.

Clutching the edges of her raincoat, she sat in the pew of the church for some time, even after most of the attendees had left. She had counted maybe twenty people at most. There were familiar faces, Buffy, Xander, Willow, Kennedy, Giles and a few other slayers, ones that hadn't known Wesley, but had paid their respects to him. She had left Arianna with Giles's wife Claire. That was for the best. She didn't want anyone else knowing, or even connecting the dots. Arianna was hers now and no one else.

Finally rising, she slowly made her way to the back, to see if Giles was still around. As she pushed the doors open, she saw the rain had lightened somewhat. Giles was standing in the rain, no umbrella, talking with an older man. The older man was pointing to Giles with a look of anger and disgust. She knew that Giles could handle just about anyone, but today she didn't want anyone troubling him. He had been such a great help, even though she had run away from her responsibilities yet again. There wasn't any harsh words from him, no punishment for not doing her job. He just hugged her tightly, grateful that she was well. He had hugged Arianna even tighter, elicited a squeal from her daughter.

Giles had taken to her daughter like a proud grandpa. She wouldn't tell him that he'd make a wonderful father someday, because he would probably snarl back at her.

Xander had almost cried when he arrived from his latest trip to find new slayers. He was happy to see her, but didn't hug her like Giles did. He just stood and looked at her for the longest time, like he didn't know whether he should be angry with her, or he should not let her out of his sight.

Buffy and Willow were grateful that she hadn't been injured while she was gone. They actually did care about her in their own way. Having the baby around made things go smoother. No one wanted to upset Arianna, so conversations were kept as civil as possible.

So they all kept her sane during the day. It was the nights that frightened her. Her dreams, which usually turned into nightmares, were populated with scary creatures that would turn into Angel or Spike or that blue chick. She would try to fight them off, only to be stopped by Wes. That she didn't understand. Until he would thrust his own sword into her stomach, stopping her himself, instead of the demon creatures she fought. So she fought him almost every night, making her awake in a cold sweat. Maybe once he was laid to rest, the nightmares would lessen.

She wanted to explain to Giles what had happened, but only got out a little of the story each day. Every time she started to discuss it with him, she had to stop. Eventually it wouldn't be so painful. It had to get better.

The old man standing beside Giles looked like he was blowing steam out of his ears now. He was starting to yell at Giles. She didn't want this day to end with violence. She hadn't remembered seeing this man in the church at all. Where had he come from?

It wasn't until the man raised his hand to hit Giles that she ran to help. But Giles was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, to ward off a blow from an old man. He held the man's arm away from him. Pushing him away, Giles straightened his coat.

Faith came up behind Giles, to see if he really did need that help. The old man looked her over, not saying a word back. His blue eyes bored a hole through her, like she had committed some offense against him. She had no clue what she could have done to the guy.

"Slayer," the man hissed as he looked straight at her.

"Giles. Need help?" she asked, not wanting to take the man's bait.

"I was just telling him to leave. He's not wanted here."

"You cannot take this away from me."

"I already have. It was done according to the papers that I received. He didn't want you to have any part in this."

Faith figured that the he Giles was referring to was Wes. Who could this guy be? Then it hit her like a ton of bricks. The blue eyes matched perfectly. And he knew she was a slayer.

"Go away," she growled, coming closer to the old man.

"You don't tell me what to do, girl. You ruined his life, and now you'll ruin his death?"

She was never so glad to have left Arianna with Claire. Luckily she had the forethought to not put a father's name on the birth certificate. If this were what Wesley's father was like, she would never want this man near her daughter, ever.

"Mr. Wyndam-Pryce," she spat out. "Stay away. No one wants you here, especially your son, may he rest in peace."

"He'll never have any peace, you slut. You brought him so low that he joined up with that vampire. And look where that led? Now he's dead."

Faith had to admit that she did have something to do with how Wesley was shaped. Hell, he had everything to do with how she eventually turned out. They were a matched set.

"He died doing the right thing."

"He died because of making the wrong choices, as he always did. He trusted the wrong people, worked with evil. He accomplished nothing in life. The only saving grace was his mother wasn't around to hear what a failure he had become."

"We all fail, Mr. Wyndam-Pryce. All of us. But you know what, when Wes did, he always picked himself back up, brushed himself off, and started all over again. You don't realize how many people he saved, how many times he helped save the world. He was a good man. Sorry you never noticed that about your own son."

"He was a waste of time. Never amounted to anything. He couldn't even handle a slayer."

"He was a good watcher. I'm still alive today because of him. You never knew him. Never wanted to know him. I'm sorry you never got the privilege. Ready to motor, Rupert?"

Faith wanted to dismiss this man as nothing. He would never be anything in her life, or Arianna's. She wished that she could punch his lights out, but that wouldn't solve anything. Might make her feel better, but it wouldn't help matters.

"It is already done, Roger. You have no control over how he wanted to be buried. Face the facts. Your son didn't want you involved. And Faith is right. He was a good man."

Faith didn't want Wes's father see her emotions regarding his son. She'd hold it all in until she went back to Giles's place, then fall apart.

"I will fight this. You'll see."

Faith stepped close to the man, smelling the fear that flowed off of him. He was a coward. Faith was so glad that Wes wasn't a coward, that he had gotten out from under the control of this thing that was supposed to be his father.

"Don't," was the only word that came out of her mouth.

She wanted to rant and rave about what a bad father he was, but she didn't know the whole story. Only bits and pieces. She doubted that he could do anything now. Wes had been smart to write down what he wanted done in case of his death. It was something Faith would have to think about too, now that she had such a big responsibility. This man would never learn of Arianna's parentage. He would never get a chance to be a grandfather.

"Don't threaten me, girl," he shot back.

"She's not threatening. I'm the one who is threatening you. You didn't deserve a son like him." Giles looked quite scary when he let the old Ripper show through.

Giles led her to the car, even opening her door for her. Getting in, he started the car and left with a flourish. Faith rubbed a hand through her wet hair, trying to dry it a little. The heat from the car didn't warm her one bit. She just wanted to go back to bed and never get up.

"You shouldn't have confronted him," Giles started.

"I had to," Faith answered.

"Now are you going to tell me?"

"No," she whispered as her hands started to shake.

Well, the breakdown that she had contemplated doing after she got back to Giles's place didn't want to wait. She tried holding it all in by putting a hand over her mouth, thinking it would distract her mind from not going there.

"Faith, are you alright?" Giles asked.

"Pull over. I can't breathe," Faith panted out, trying to take a breath but was not able.

Giles slammed on his brakes, pulling over to the side. He wrenched her seatbelt off, taking her head in his hands.

"Faith, look at me. You have to breathe. You're just hyperventilating. Just calm down."

"I can't," she answered, still out of breath.

"Yes, you can."

"I can't," she cried.

Looking into Giles's kind eyes, her breathing slowed somewhat until she felt like she wasn't drowning. She took one big gulp and burst out crying. Not many people had ever seen her fall apart like this. Only Angel and Wes had before.

"Oh, sweetheart," he whispered as he gathered her in his arms to let her cry on his shoulder.

Faith wailed and sobbed for quite some time before she was able to raise her head from his drenched shoulder. She hadn't realized how tight she had been holding him until she saw him sigh in relief.

"Sorry," she choked out.

"I'm glad you were finally able to get that all out. We thought you would explode."

So the others had seen too how tightly coiled her emotions were. Dumb friends.

"I didn't mean to fall apart like that," she sniffled.

"You needed to, Faith. I'm glad I was here to help."

"I have to tell you. I have to tell you what happened. Someone has to know."

"We'll talk about it when we get back. The rest will be wondering what kept us."

"I can't tell them," Faith cried out.

She thought they would think less of her, not that they didn't already. She had let these people down way too much in her life.

"You can start with me. It'll come, in time."

"Please protect Arianna from him," Faith blurted out.

She would protect her daughter as much as she could from Wes's father. But someone else needed to know the whole story.

"Excuse me," Giles asked.

"He's, Arianna, I don't know how to explain all of this to you."

Giles looked perplexed for a moment, and then caught on to what Faith was trying to tell him.

"Oh, dear," he softly said. "No one knows."

"No one. I take that back. Angel, Spike and Illyria know."

"Now I understand it all. I've been such a . . . ," Giles admonished himself.

"A dumbass. No, that's me for running away from you all."

"You were scared. Now that all the pieces are fitting together, it was probably a good plan."

"Not like I intended it to be."

"I am sorry."

"Yeah. I know."

Giles gave her a quick peck on the forehead, brushing her unruly, damp hair off of her face. "I'm glad you came to me."

"So am I. Thanks for all the helping stuff."

"My pleasure. Faith?" Giles took her by the shoulders, like what he had to say next would mean the world to her. "I'll do whatever it takes to protect Arianna from him. Do you understand me?"

Faith just nodded, not wanting to start crying again. Giles really did care about what happened to her and to Arianna.

"You are a good mother. Just remember that. And a good woman."

If what Giles was saying was true, then why did she want to throw up, run away from the mess and hit something all at the same time.

"Thanks, G man."

"Xander. Maybe we should keep Arianna very far from him."

Faith chuckled a little. "Can she call you Grandpa?"

"Absolutely not. Uncle Rupert will do. I can't be a grandfather before I'm a real father. Now can I?"

"Well, you better get on it. Buffy'll be havin' 'em before you do."

"Not likely. Let's go home and tell Arianna that I'm her new uncle."

"Sounds like a plan."

Faith rested her head against the cool glass of the car window, watching the beautiful greenery pass her by. Would her life be perfect? No. Definitely not. Did she have friends that cared about her? Yeah, that was true. Did she miss Wesley fiercely? Yeah, she always would. But he had given her something that had changed her life. And she would always love him for that. He never got to know how much she loved him. She'd tell her daughter that someday, not lying to her that it had been rough between them. He was a good man. And Arianna would grow up learning that every day.

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November 2003

"Well, here we are," Faith said as they pulled up in front of Wolfram and Hart. "You wanna bolt? We could run away together. Bonnie and Clyde. Roam the countryside doing our damnedest to forget that places like this exist."

"That was a mouthful, especially coming from you, Faith."

They were back in Los Angeles. Faith hadn't been there since she took Angelus down for the count. It really didn't feel all that good to be back.

"And Bonnie and Clyde went out in a hail of bullets. Not how I see myself dying."

"Hey, slayer here. Expiration date printed on my ass, so to speak."

"I don't believe that is true. You're cunning, you're fast, you're . . . ," Wesley started.

"Damn sexy. I look really good in that dress you bought me, by the way. Just make sure the rest of my stuff gets back to me."

"Why would you want it back?"

"Hey, man, the boots are worth the cost of shipping. It took me a year to get them broken in. And I want to frame that freakin' yellow dress."

Wesley laughed at her little joke. "It was quite lovely."

Faith punched him in the arm, making him wince a little. She hadn't really touched him since the morning, right before they left the hotel room. She had tackled him, stripping him below the waist and had her way with him before breakfast. Now all she wanted to do was take his hand and run away. But he had obligations. People that depended on him. Just like she did back in Cleveland.

"Fucking disaster, if you ask me."

"Your appointment?"

"Yeah, yeah. I need to haul ass if I'm gonna make it on time. It's not far though."

Both climbed out of the beat up old truck that was parked right in front of the office building. Many of the people in suits looked over at them, but kept moving. It was after lunchtime and the sidewalk was filled with office workers shuffling to and fro. They looked like little worker bees in Faith's mind. She was so glad that she punched things for a living.

Wesley gently touched her face with the back of his hand.

"You should go," he announced.

"Yeah. No goodbyes though. I know how much you hate all that hugging and stuff."

Before she could react, he pulled her into his arms and placed his lips over hers. They stood there like that for some time, lips locked, arms tight around each other. Must have been making quite the scene for the onlookers, she thought. He finally came up for air, making her sway a littlefrom the lack of oxygen that was traveling to her brain at the moment.

"Thank you," he told her as he released her.

"For what? Oh, for that. My pleasure."

"Not just that."

Faith didn't exactly know what he was talking about, but she didn't press the issue.

"See you around?"

"You may visit anytime."

"Tell Angel and the others I said hi."

Faith started to back away from him, knowing that if she didn't leave right then, she might not leave at all. Something was tugging at her heart. But she knew that it would never work.

"I will."

"Keep safe. Don't take no shit off of Angel, the asshole. Talk to Fred. Tell Gunn I'm gonna kick his ass if he gets too uppity."

She buried the comment about Fred. Something was going on between the two. She just hoped that she hadn't ruined whatever was happening.

Faith gathered up her bag and turned to leave. Somehow she knew she shouldn't. That she should just take his hand and not let him enter that building, like the place would swallow him whole. But he believed in what he was doing. She couldn't lead him away from that. He would regret it for the rest of his life.

He waved to her as she headed down the street to make her appointment in time. He didn't get to see the tears that she shed, saying goodbye in her mind as she crossed the street and lost sight of him standing beside the truck, arms crossed over his chest. It hurt too much to think about, so she took off at a run. She'd be back sometime, anytime when he needed cheering up. She'd count on him to be there when she needed a shoulder. Besides, they had a lifetime, right?

------------------------------------------

Wesley watched Faith hurry down the street. It was bittersweet irony that she left him and not the other way around. He was sorely tempted to go after her, to run with her back to Cleveland. He had made a grave mistake joining Wolfram and Hart with Angel. But he would see it through until the end.

He had come to care for the woman, that was true. He couldn't tell her that. She would always hold a special place in his heart. Faith was that special. They had been through so much together, most of which would have killed a normal human being. But she was strong. And he was stronger for having known her.

What he didn't do though was tell her his feelings for her. She would have stayed or demanded that he come with her. Faith needed to get on with her life, needed to get back to the thing that she did best. Wesley's career as watcher was over. He couldn't go back to that now. He had his life and she had to live hers. He would just drag her down, make her less than what she was.

If things were different, he could track her down and take her up on her offer. It would be a pleasure to be with her, if just to be her friend. They had lived together for a week and hadn't killed each other. That was a plus. He'd see her again sometime. That he was sure of.

Throwing the keys to the beat up pickup to a doorman to the office building, he opened up the big doors and walked inside. He was changed. His heart felt a bit lighter since the last time he had walked through these doors. It had been all Faith. She had helped him deal with the fact that he wasn't perfect, but that he was perfect just the way he was. And if Fred couldn't see the real him, then so be it. He had a job to do. Fight the good fight, and die trying.

The End

Author thanks goes out to everyone that read this beast. I know, it's probably the saddest thing I have ever written. Thanks to Tariq, mandie, Illyria639, Wav, and tp96 for commenting on this chapter. And to all who have commented or who have just said hi, thanks so much for your support. It really does make a difference when someone says I like what you are doing. NC-17 version of chapter eleven is posted, if you want to read. Please e-mail me if you don't know the name of the other site.

Thanks to all who have reviewed any chapter. Tariq, mandie, Illyria639, Wav, tp96, Allen Pitt, pari106, shahid, lovesbitca, 12345, Steph, Ruth Quist (aka qkith), NAA76, psychotic chaos, and everyone else who read it. I hope you had fun!

Answers to questions:

Tariq—thanks for sticking with it.

Mandie—thanks for all the support and for your note about my cat.

Illyria639—I wanted Spike to be very sympathetic. Poor guy understands totally what she is going through.

Wav—Live Journal? I am so out of touch. Icons? Hmm. I'll check out the Live Journal thing and get back to you. I need to know how it works!

Tp96—Dressed up, dressed down.


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